Macaroni Cheese

Comfort food at its best!  I have given ingredients for the basic recipe.  You can modify this by adding chopped, cooked bacon or pancetta (in which case of course it ceases to be vegetarian), different cooked vegetables (for example peas, corn kernels, diced courgette), a combination of different cheeses instead of the cheddar, or a mixture of soft herbs.  Growing up, we would eat this with sliced tomato grilled on the top.

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C or 190°C Fan.
2. Cook the macaroni in a large pot of well salted, boiling water until it is al dente – roughly 8-10 minutes (i.e you can just bite through the pasta and there is no chalky centre) then drain the pasta and return it to the pan, off the heat, while you finish making the white sauce.
   
3. While the macaroni is boiling, warm the milk in a small pot and in a heavy based saucepan melt the butter and add the flour and mustard and stir or whisk together over a gentle heat for a minute or so.  The flour mixture will be a little foamy.
   
4. Gradually add the warm milk to the flour mixture whilst stirring or whisking and continue cooking it for approximately 4-5 minutes stirring frequently, until it has thickened slightly.
   
5. Add all but a handful of the grated cheese to the white sauce and stir or whisk until smooth.
   
6. Pour the cheese sauce over the drained pasta and give it a good mix to combine.
   
7. In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and remaining handful of grated cheese.
   
8. Tip the macaroni into an oven dish of about 1.5 litre capacity (the dish shown is 18cm square and 7.5cm deep).  Sprinkle over the cheese and breadcrumb mix and cook in the oven for 10 minutes until the top is golden and the macaroni and cheese sauce bubbling.