The perfect macaroni & cheese to me is one with plenty of melted cheese & sauce, perfectly seasoned, not soggy pasta and a gratinated top. Just the thought of it makes me salivate. If like me, you have been disappointed too many times when you’ve ordered mac & cheese only to be presented with a dry and underwhelming version, look no further. This is the recipe you’ve been waiting for…

I knew that becoming a blogger also entailed learning some photography and film basics. Visual presentation plays a huge part on getting people to come back to a website. So I took it upon myself to learn a few skills… It’s definitely not Cannes Festival worthy, but I promise to keep working on it! Remember, I am primarily a chef before a blogger. ?

This recipe has a white sauce base which is a basic béchamel with cheese melted through, and that, in French cuisine, is called Mornay sauce. Béchamel has so many uses, I love it on my ham & cheese toasties and pasta bakes and of course, in lasagna. I do advice that you take your time to cook the flour out in the beginning of making the sauce, otherwise, you get that raw flour taste, which is not very nice. A hint of spice gives this sauce depth of flavour and the cheese that you use will make the mornay sauce extra yum, so don’t skimp on the cheese.

Speaking of cheese, please grate your cheese fresh and try to avoid buying grated cheese. Store-bought grated cheese–although convenient–have caking agents and will affect the texture of your sauce.

Don’t be shy about burning the top a little, it’s so much better with a crispy crust.

Moving on, so I made my first video on how to make the sauce without lumps, I do apologise for the amateur filming & editing, hopefully, it serves its purpose. If you have more questions or clarifications, just reach out and I’d be happy to help. Tag me on your photos or include #mrsfancypants on your social media post! I would love to see what recipes you like!

P.S. I use metric units in most of my recipes but I’ve included US measurements as well for your reference. I’ve tested the recipe using both.

 
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 15 Mins Cook Time: 20 Mins Total Time: 35 Mins
This recipe makes 4 servings as a side dish.

Ingredients

    Pasta:
    • Mornay Sauce:
    • Toppings:

Instructions

0/5 Instructions
  • Cook pasta as per packaging instructions less 1 minute. Drain. Toss in the olive oil. Set aside.
    • Make the sauce:
  • Preheat oven to 200C. In a sauce pot over medium flame, melt butter. When butter starts to froth, add flour and nutmeg then whisk until it forms a paste. Keep whisking for 3 minutes to cook out flour.
  • Slowly add milk while whisking to avoid lumps. Keep whisking until your bechamel is smooth and thick. Turn down the heat to avoid burning.
  • Take pot off the heat. Add cheeses, stir with a wooden spoon until cheese melts. Fold in elbow macaroni. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Assemble your macaroni & cheese:
  • Take tray out and grind a few turns of black pepper and sprinkle with chopped chives. Serve.

Notes

  1. Always use fresh grated cheese, the packed grated cheese have anti-caking agents and would not result in the same smooth, lump-free sauce.
  2. Replace chives with parsley or if you have no herbs available, just skip it, it's only a garnish.
  3. I always boil pasta in salty water. As in the water should taste salty not just add a teaspoon of salt to your pot, this results in better tasting pasta!
  4. Use warm to hot milk but do not burn your milk.