Comfort food defined - "Mac n Cheese Pie"

Carbs and cheese! - What more could you want from a delicious bowl of comfort food on a Saturday afternoon infront of the telly!

Whenever I ask Adrian what he wants to eat at the weekend, its always mac n cheese with the request that I make enough to stretch for a week day left over when I'm working away! Its the combination of the very cheesy sauce and pasta that makes my variation of this classic dish a staple favourite amongst our friends group and is regularly on the menu at our parties.

I've never actually followed a recipe, I don't know where I learnt to make it, I think it was from my Nana who made a variation of this in the form of macaroni bake which was a favourite of my sister and me when we were younger.

The below is a guide rather than a recipe as I taste as I go and add to suit our taste!

To make enough for 4/6 people. Or as we do, an all day meal on a Saturday that we keep going back to inbetween films on the sofa!

Cheese Sauce

100g - Flour

100g - Butter

700ml - Milk (could be less or more depending how thick you like the sauce)

1 Table spoon of English mustard

300g - Cheese - you can use any cheese you have in the fridge. I use cheddar mainly but have added Brie, Stilton (Be careful with Stilton as it adds more salt to the flavour)

50 - 100g of parmesan depending on how cheesy you like it!

150ml - Single cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes.

3. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in one-third of the milk. Return to the heat and simmer, stirring, until all the milk is incorporated.

4. Repeat this process, stirring all the time, allowing the sauce to become thick and shiny before adding more milk.

5. When all the milk is added bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes and season with salt and white pepper.

6. Add 1 table spoon of English mustard and stir in until the sauce has taken on the golden colour from the mustard.

7. Add in cheese and stir in untill melted.

8. Finally add in the single cream.

I have taken the basic method from BBC Goodfood and added my additions!

Pasta

500G of Macaroni pasta

1x Chicken or vegetable stock cube

Good couple of pinches of Salt

Method

You want to boil the pasta till its 3/4's cooked. The baking in the oven will continue to cook the pasta.

Adding a stock cube in pasta water is optional but I always boil pasta and rice with a stock cube!

Fillings

The first is an absolute must, Onions -

Dice and fry an onion in butter, I awlays cook the onions so they are really brown as the onion adds another depth of flavour.

Our regular go to filling is chopped sausages! We have also done this with smokey bacon which works really well as does Nigella's ham in cola recipe if you want to be really decadant!

www.nigella.com

Ham in Coca Cola

Only those who have never tried this raise an eyebrow at the idea. Don't hesitate, don't be anxious: this really works. No one who cooks it, cooks it just once: it always earns a place in every repertoire.

You've made your sauce, boied your pasta and fried the onions and any other fillings you want to add.

In a baking dish add the part cooked pasta with the onion and any addtional fillings you have chossen and stir together.

Now pour over the cheese sauce - start with about 2/3's of the sauce then gently stir this through the pasta as it helps the sauce get really in to the tubes of macaroni. (You can see the air bubbles coming out of the pasta as you stir in the picture below)

Then add the final third of sauce.

Topping

4 x packs of multi bag mini cheddars loosely broken up

Grated cheese enough for two thin layers

Pepper

1. Over the top grate a thin layer of cheese

2. Sprinkle over the mini cheddars

3. Another thin layer of cheese

4. Pepper to taste

   (You need the 2 thin layers - The first layer stops the mini cheddars going soft from the sauce, and the top layer stops the cheddars from burning in the oven.)

5. Then in the oven around 180 for about 30-40 mins. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes beforer serving. If the top starts to go to brown then pop some foil over to stop it catching.

Tomato ketchup is the perfect condiment to go with this delicious and homely comfort food, to be enjoyed on the sofa with some great TV and absolutely NO interruption!!!!