Giant Macaroni Cheese

Presto Pasta Nights

Thinking up 7 random foodie things about me, made me think about the macaroni cheese my mum taught me to make and so I just had to make some!


Macaroni Cheese

500ml milk
25g butter
25g plain flour
100g mature cheddar, grated
50g Parmesan, grated
10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
400g macaroni

Heat the milk in a saucepan with the peppercorns and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and then strain off the peppercorns and the bay leaf.

In another saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add a little milk at a time and whisk until mixture thickens, then add a little more milk and do the same until all the milk is used.

Bring the sauce to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, keep whisking. Add the grated cheddar and Parmesan and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a large pan of salted water according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain and return to the pan. Stir in the cheese sauce.

This is not the original recipe my mum passed on to me, I have added peppercorns and a bay leaf to the milk for extra flavour and my mum never added Parmesan! But that is just tweaking as you go along isn't it? I used Pennoni Rigati for a change instead of macaroni. It is a bit like giant penne. It held the sauce beautifully! I served the pasta with some fresh coriander and freshly grated vegetarian Parmesan .

When I make macaroni cheese with traditional macaroni, I like to finish it off in the oven after I have topped it with either mushrooms or cherry tomatoes and more grated cheddar. This gives it a crispy topping and adds a little interest!

I have added this recipe as my first contribution to Presto Pasta Nights . Hope you like it!