Introduction
It’s pretty difficult to go wrong with a macaroni cheese, I mean really, it’s in the name (granted I used penne but let’s just think of it as Jumbo Macaroni.) Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean we can’t make a macaroni cheese go righter…rer. With the simple addition of some booze and spicy sausage, we can turn something from School-Lunch average to Dinner Party Superb.
Ingredients
- Hard, strong cheese (I find Red Leicester gives a lovely colour, but cheddar will of course work perfectly well.)
- Macaroni or any other macaroni-like pasta. Tubes work best because they fill with the sauce
- Milk
- Flour
- Butter
- White Wine
- Chorizo (or any other spicy sausage)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Set the pasta boiling in VERY well salted water. It makes a difference, I promise you.
- Grate the cheese and slice the chorizo.
- In a pan, melt a fairly large amount of butter and add the chorizo. Fry well, until the butter is turning orange from the chorizo juices.
- Add a similar amount of flour as you did butter and stir in well, cooking on a medium heat until the mixture becomes very thick.
- Pour in the white wine (a glass or so) and continue to stir for a few minutes. It should still be very thick, forming easily into peaks.
- Slowly pour in COLD milk, and stir gently over a medium heat. Continue until the mixture has thickened to a soupy texture.
- Add the cheese and reduce the heat. Stir through until thoroughly incorporated. The mixture should be velvety.
To thicken at this stage, either mix some cornflour and water in a dish and stir through, add more cheese or reduce the mixture.
- Drain the pasta and put into an oven safe dish. Pour over the sauce and mix, so all the pasta is covered.
- Bake in the oven until to your liking – for an extra treat sprinkle with breadcrumbs first.
Serving and Storage
Serve in medium sized bowls with a refreshing drink, as this really is a VERY rich dish. If you must have more carbs, of course garlic bread will work.
This will keep for 2 or 3 days in the fridge, and can easily be heated in the microwave. Whilst the taste is still there when cold, the sauce gets a tad too thick.
What do you like to spice up your pasta with? Let us know in the comments below.