Three Cheese Macaroni Cheese
What is better than macaroni cheese? Three Cheese Macaroni Cheese, of course! Made with a combination of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan and finished with a crispy parmesan and panko breadcrumb topping, this version definitely takes mac n cheese to the next level!
Servings 4 people
Calories 708kcal
Ingredients
- 300 g macaroni (NOT quick cook)
- 30 g butter
- 25 g plain flour
- 500 ml milk
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 100 g hard mozzarella cheese grated
- 50 g mature cheddar cheese grated
- 100 g parmesan cheese grated (75g for the sauce, 25g for the topping) or vegetarian equivalent
- 50 g panko breadcrumbs
- 100 g salad leaves to serve
- 1 quantity Honey, Mustard and Cider Vinegar dressing to serve
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Cook the macaroni in plenty of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes less than you would normally do it. This is important or your macaroni will end up soggy and stodgy. Drain reserving a little of the cooking water.
- Put the butter in an ovenproof saucepan or hob proof oven dish and melt over a low heat until starting to foam.
- Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir well, then add the milk very slowly, stirring constantly until thickened. When the sauce is roughly the thickness of double (heavy) cream, add in a few twists of black pepper, the Dijon mustard and all the cheese except for 25g of the parmesan. Stir until the cheese is melted and then turn the heat off.
- In a small bowl place the panko breadcrumbs and the remaining 25g of the parmesan cheese. Mix together to make the topping.
- Tip the macaroni into the cheese sauce, together with about a tablespoon of the cooking water, and stir to combine. Scatter the panko topping evenly over the top and place in your preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve with a green salad.
Notes
If you don’t have an ovenproof saucepan or hob proof oven dish, simply cook the sauce in a regular saucepan and transfer the macaroni cheese to an oven dish before sprinkling with the topping and putting in the oven.
Whatever you do, do not make this with quick cook macaroni…or it will end in total disaster, AKA mush…you have been warned!!
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Nutrition
Calories: 708kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 858mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1165IU | Vitamin C: 5.8mg | Calcium: 695mg | Iron: 2.4mg