Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

The recipe is for baked Macaroni and Cheese, but in this case we used pasta shells (conchiglie) instead of elbow macaroni; it's what we had in the pantry at the time so we used that instead. Pasta variation notwithstanding, this dish was a hit with kids and grown-ups alike.

Ingredients

• 500g pasta shell (you can also use elbow macaroni!)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• to taste salt and ground pepper (try half a teaspoon each)
• as needed extra cheese for topping
• as needed breadcrumbs

Cooking Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, but shave a couple of minutes off the cooking time as the pasta will still be baked later.
   
   
2. Preheat oven to 205 Celcius.
3. Heat up a thick-bottomed pot over medium-low heat.
4. Melt the butter, removing the pot from the heat as necessary to prevent it from burning.
5. Whisk continuously while slowly adding the flour. Then gradually add the milk, still whisking continuously.
   
   
6.  After a couple of minutes, add the cheese, salt and pepper, still whisking (yes, there's quite a lot of whisking) until the sauce is smooth.
   
   
7. Add in the cooked pasta and mix carefully with a wooden spoon.
8. Transfer the pasta and sauce mixture onto a lightly greased baking pan.
   
   
9. Grate some cheese op top, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
   
   
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm.