Mac and Cheese

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00:25

Mac and cheese, or pasta with cheese sauce, is an American classic. Popular with kids and adults alike, which makes sense since it essentially is pasta with cheese – and who doesn’t love that?

It’s a bit of a heavy dish, so feel free to serve it with vegetables such as poached broccoli, carrots or cauliflower. You could also roast a chicken breast and serve with it, or how about some bacon?

Ingredients

Pasta

1.5 l Water

1 tbsp. Salt

250 gram Pasta

Cheese Sauce

250 gram Cheese e.g. Cheddar

50 gram Butter

30 gram All-purpose flour

4.5 dl Whole milk, 3.5 % fat

1 tbsp. Mustard

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Steps

1
Cook the pasta

Prepare the pasta by following the method in the linked recipe. This allows you to easily cook the pasta without it boiling over.

Cook the pasta until it still has some bite, this will depend on your pasta of choice. Check the package for cooking time.

Make the cheese sauce while the pasta is cooking.

2
Make cheese sauce

Start by grating the cheese so it’s ready for when you need it. For this recipe, it’s best to use cheese that you grate yourself. Avoid the bags of pre-grated cheese.

Add the butter to a pan and melt it at 135ºC.

Once the butter almost has stopped sizzling you can add the flour while whisking lightly. Let it heat through for about 3 minutes, stirring gently, this is to avoid a taste of uncooked flour in the sauce.

Pour in the milk a little at a time while whisking. If you add all the milk at once it is very difficult to avoid lumps. Whisk until all the milk is added and the sauce is creamy and smooth. Turn the heat down to 103ºC.

Add the grated cheese and let it melt into the sauce while stirring. Add mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3
Mix pasta and cheese sauce

Drain your pasta and add it to the cheese sauce. Stir until the pasta is completely covered by the sauce.

Serve.

The sauce will thicken as it cools. After 3-4 minutes it will set a little and become thicker and creamier. Depending on your preference, you can serve the pasta immediately or wait a couple of minutes.

Notes

If you don’t have two pots, you can make the cheese sauce in the frying pan. Just be a little more careful when stirring the cheese in, so you don’t spill. Mix the cheese sauce and pasta together in the pot the pasta was cooked in, to ensure room for mixing.

If you have leftover Mac and Cheese that you want to reheat, then add a little extra water until the sauce has the desired thickness.

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