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Proper Macaroni Cheese (and the Best Cheeses to Grate for It)
Nestware Kitchen
There's a reason macaroni cheese turns up on every pub menu in February. It's warm, it's cheap, and it's the edible version of a blanket.
The secret to a sauce that's silky rather than grainy is simple: grate your own cheese. Bags of ready-grated cheese are tossed in potato starch or cellulose to stop the shreds sticking together. Great in the bag, not so great in a sauce, where it can turn things claggy and stop the cheese melting smoothly.
We grate ours on the Nestware rotary grater with the fine drum. 300g of cheddar takes about a minute, and nobody loses a knuckle.
The best cheeses for macaroni cheese
- Mature cheddar: the backbone. Strong flavour, melts well.
- Red Leicester: a slightly sweeter, nuttier note and that proper orange colour.
- Gruyère: the luxury option. Stretchy, nutty, very good on top.
- Parmesan: not much melt, lots of flavour. Use it in the crumb topping.
- Lancashire: we would say this, but a crumbly Lancashire stirred in at the end adds a lovely tang.
Proper Macaroni Cheese (and the Best Cheeses to Grate for It)
Serves: 4 servingsPrep: 15 minCook: 35 min
Ingredients
- 300g macaroni
- 50g butter
- 50g plain flour
- 750ml whole milk, warmed
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 250g mature cheddar, finely grated
- 50g Gruyère or Red Leicester, finely grated
- Salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg
For the topping
- 40g panko or fresh breadcrumbs
- 25g Parmesan, finely grated
- A knob of butter, melted
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Cook the macaroni in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet says. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pan, stir in the flour and cook for a minute until it smells biscuity.
- Add the warm milk a ladle at a time, whisking constantly, until you have a smooth sauce. Simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Take the pan off the heat (this matters, as boiling cheese goes grainy). Stir in the mustard, then the grated cheese a handful at a time until melted. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Fold the pasta through the sauce and tip into an ovenproof dish.
- Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and melted butter and scatter over the top.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbling and golden. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Why does my cheese sauce go grainy?
Usually one of two things: the sauce was boiling when the cheese went in, or the cheese was pre-grated and coated in anti-caking starch. Take the pan off the heat, and grate your own from the block.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Assemble up to the topping, cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Add the crumb and bake from cold for about 35 minutes. Add an extra splash of milk to the sauce before chilling, as pasta drinks it up overnight.
Made with: Nestware Rotary Cheese Grater
Five stainless drums for fine, coarse, slicing, waffle and julienne, a suction base that stays put, and a pusher that keeps fingers well away from the blade.
