Comfort food: it’s warm and filling, and maybe evokes childhood memories of nostalgic dishes. Macaroni and cheese is a quintessential comfort food. Now I’m not talking about boxed or canned macaroni and cheese, I’m talking about full-flavoured gourmet macaroni and cheese involving more steps than simply ripping open a box and microwaving.

I take pride in all of the dishes I create in my kitchen. But nothing makes me happier than seeing loved ones devour the warm satisfying goodness. The following recipe is a creamy gourmet macaroni and cheese, which is baked for 30 minutes. I use a combination of mature cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Instead of heavy cream, I use sour cream to prevent the dish from becoming too rich. Serve with fresh hot buttermilk biscuits for an instant hit, and everyone clamouring for seconds, or even thirds!

Serves 4-6, depending on the serving size
Active prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 400g dry macaroni
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tsbp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp ground mustard (I ground mustard seeds in a pestle and mortar)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 medium egg
• 6 oz mature cheddar, shredded
• 6 oz Monterey jack, shredded
• Ground flake sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Approach

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC
2. Boil macaroni in a stockpot until al dente, drizzle extra virgin olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking
3. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt butter
4. Whisk in the flour and ground mustard into butter, and ensure there are no lumps
5. Slowly add the milk and sour cream, and whisk until completely blended
6. Add onions, bay leaf and spices, thoroughly combine, and simmer for 10 minutes
7. Remove bay leaf, and slowly whisk the egg into the creamy mixture
8. Slowly add small portions of cheese into the mixture, add more (up to ¾ of cheese) as each portion melts
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper
10. Pour the cheese mixture into the macaroni, and fold to combine completely
11. Pour macaroni and cheese into a large casserole dish, and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cheese on top
12. Season to top with salt and pepper
13. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese browns a bit
14. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving
15. Serve with warm buttermilk biscuits, and enjoy!