Mac & Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese, a dish that’s usually associated with comfort, family and a week night staple.

All it takes are a few special things, including Skimmed SuperNutrio milk, spring onions and diced red pepper, to elevate the humble Mac & Cheese from a lowly side dish into a stand-alone, eat it all up kind of meal.

And this mac and cheese is full to the brim with everything i need to satisfy my carbohydrate cravings and make me feel as though ive had some if my five a day.

This recipe works really well with the milk of your choice, plant based, high protein SuperNutrio or cows, so if you’re planning to make this, and i think you should, theres not much you’ll have to serve with it.

Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!

What You Need

•  500g Dried Macaroni

• 200g Mature Cheddar Cheese - Grated

• 6 Spring Onions

• 1 Large Red Pepper

• 25g Butter

• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

• 2 tsp Salt

Packed full of good stuff.

 Sauce

• 800ml Skimmed SuperNutrio milk - Or Milk of your choice

• 200g Mature Cheddar Cheese - Grated

• 50g Butter

• 50g Plain Flour

• 25g Fresh Chives

• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard

• Salt & Pepper to taste – See Tip Box

Make the sauce smooth before adding in the cheese and softened vegetables.

 How It’s Done

•  Heat the oven to 200c

•  Finely chop the chives and put aside until needed.

• Take out the seeds of the red pepper and chop it into small pieces – Set it aside until needed.

• Pull off the outer leaves of the spring onions and cut off the roots.

• Roughly slice the spring onions and lay them aside until needed.

• Put the 2 tbsp of oil and 25g of butter into a frying pan and let it melt on a low heat.

• Dump the chopped spring onions and red pepper into the pan and cook on a medium heat, for around 5 minutes, until they are just beginning to get soft.

• Take them off the heat and set aside until needed.

• Dump the macaroni and 2 tsp of salt into a large pot and cover with boiling water. Make sure that the macaroni is completely covered with the boiling water.

• Let the pasta boil until just before completely cooked – so there is still a bite to it – See Tip Box

• Once cooked, drain the water away completely, and return the pasta to the warm but dry pan. Set it aside until the sauce is made.

• Pour the Skimmed SuperNutrio milk - Or milk of your choice, into a saucepan and heat until just below boiling point.

• Once hot, take it off the heat and set it aside until needed.

• Find a separate saucepan large enough to hold the sauce, and place the 50g of butter in it.

• On a low to medium heat, let the butter slowly melt.

• Once the butter has melted, dump the 50g of butter into the pan.

• Mix up the butter and flour until it comes together.

• Stirring all the time, let the flour mixture cook for 2 minutes.

• Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the warm Skimmed SuperNutrio milk - or milk of choice, and use a whisk to bring it together.

• Place the pan back on to the heat and don’t stop whisking until the sauce becomes thick and lump free.

• Dump in the grated cheese, and once again, whisk on a low to medium heat, until the cheese has completely melted into the sauce.

• Add the Dijon mustard, the red pepper, spring onions and the chopped chives, and once again, give it a good mix.

• Give it a taste and add salt and pepper to suit you – See Tip Box

Extra cheese on the top gives it a brown bubbling top

•  Pour the sauce and all its contents, into the macaroni pot.

• Mix everything together, making sure that all of the macaroni is coated in the sauce.

• Find an oven proof dish that will hold all of the pasta and tip it into the dish.

• Spread the macaroni so that it’s evenly distributed.

• Sprinkle the remaining 200g of cheese over the top of the macaroni.

• Place the dish on an oven proof tray and put it into the hot oven to bake for between 40-60 minutes or until the top is a golden brown, the macaroni is bubbling around the edges and it’s piping hot in the centre – See Tip Box

• Once cooked serve hot or cold.

Hot from the oven or cold the next day, it’s delicious.

 Tip Box

•  Cooking the pasta – The pasta will get a second cooking so, when boiling, don’t cook it completely. Keep an eye on the pasta and drain all the water away while there is still a bit of a bite to it.

• Salt and pepper to taste – Everyone has different tastes, so add as much or as little seasoning as suits you.

• Cooking – Every oven is different so adjust the cooking time accordingly.

• Oven Tray – Sitting the dish on an oven tray while cooking, will help with clean up if the macaroni cheese bubbles over.