Well my savoury dish went down a storm for dinner last night. I made this Macaroni Cheese Crumble as a celebration of “Thanksgiving” but instead of serving it as a side dish, as they seem to do in the USA, I made mine the main course with several accompaniments with it. As I said yesterday I didn’t have any macaroni to use so I improvised and made the dish using fusilli but any pasta will work just as well in this recipe.
When I make a sauce which is to be served with some other food by this method for several reasons:-
- it saves on the washing up.
- it can be adjusted whilst the sauce is on the pasta to the consistency you like.
- it is a lazy method. hehehe!
[lt_recipe name=”Macaroni Cheese Crumble” servings=”2″ prep_time=”15M” cook_time=”20M” total_time=”35M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”Any pasta can be used in this recipe. As you can see I have used fusilli. Nutritionally, one portion contains 731 calories, 38.7g total fat (50% daily total fat), 59.4g total carbohydrate (22% daily total carbohydrate), 3.4g fibre (12% daily fibre) (based on a 2000 calorie diet).” print=”yes” image=”https://www.love-to-bake.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/crumblemac.jpg” ingredients=”4oz pasta (any pasta works);For the sauce:;1tbsp flour;1tbsp soft spread;1tsp mustard powder;0.5tsp smoked paprika;150ml milk;100g cheddar cheese;For the crumble:;2oz porridge oats;1oz parmesan cheese;2oz cheddar cheese” ]In a pan cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water till it is almost done. (still al dente is best);Remove from the heat.;Drain the pasta and leave in the pan.;Add the soft spread followed by the flour, mustard powder, smoked paprika and mix well.;Add the milk and return to the heat to help to cook the flour out.;Remove from the heat before adding the cheese. (I chop the cheese rather than grating it).;Stir to incorporate the cheese.;Transfer to a serving dish.;For the crumble, mix the oats and cheeses together and sprinkle onto the top of the pasta and sauce. ;Bake in the oven at Gas 6 for 20 minutes till the top is golden brown and bubbling hot.;Serve with salad and garlic bread.[/lt_recipe]
As you can see, I use mustard powder and smoked paprika in this recipe so be careful with the mustard powder as this is an allergen for some people. I use these spices as they enhance the cheese flavour but you can omit or add whatever spices you prefer. I cook the pasta till it is “al dente” as when you make the sauce in the pasta if it is overcooked the pasta turns to mush and the dish looks better if the pasta holds it shape. I use this method when I make Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese, Mushrooms in a Garlic Sauce, Fish in a White Sauce (I don’t cook the fish prior to adding the sauce ingredients here) and Pasta Carbonara to name but a few.
I haven’t looked in to how to change this recipe to make it dairy and gluten free but I will at some point. Also, I imagine the nutritional content of this bake will have a high carbohydrate content and plenty of calories. I will have to check this out later, in the mean time I am off to finish proof reading my recipe book “All Things Christmasy” just in time for Christmas. 🙂