Easy mac and cheese

preparation

Effortless in preparation, intricate in flavour, this easy Macaroni and Cheese is perfect at potlucks or picnics with loved ones. Enjoy a seemingly endless expanse of taste from the cheese, enhanced by rich milk and velvety cream. Let this be your first choice when hankerings for feel-good food has you yearning for easy Macaroni and Cheese.

Method

1. Cook the macaroni pasta according to the packet instructions in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente.

2. In a saucepan add milk and cream and bring to a boil. Season with whole grain mustard, freshly ground pepper and salt.

3. Grate Castello® Extra Mature Cheddar and mix with corn starch.

4. Turn the hob down to a medium heat and stir in grated mature cheddar with the corn starch, ensuring that you’re continually stirring the mixture until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.

5. Drain the macaroni and add to the cheese sauce. Carefully stir for 3-4 minutes until the macaroni is covered with sauce.

6. Season with nutmeg and serve straight away.

Picking the right cheese

A savoury concentration of tart and buttery flavours from the cheese, along with a nice balance of wholesome milk and smooth cream, deliver a delicious mix of rich layers of flavours. With our recipe, making the perfect creamy sauce is easy, and the result is guaranteed to impress both friends and family. With this easy Macaroni and Cheese recipe in your collection, keeping away from prepacked and frozen foods has never been easier. Having cheese as the main star, means choosing the wrong one could produce a thin or plain flavour. Key to achieving the iconic macaroni and cheese taste is finding a cheese with a distinct bite. In our recipe, we chose our Castello® Extra Mature Cheddar since texture and taste is balanced perfectly. While most other cheeses would risk being saturated, this aged cheese stands in perfect contrast to the cream and milk and provides a zesty kick. The consistency of the body has been made crumbly by naturally formed salt crystals, causing it to dissolve easily and evenly. Helping binding it all together, the whole-grain mustard offers an extra bite by adding a touch of heat and piquancy.

The perfect pairing

When picking ingredients for your dish, you look for ones that taste good together – the same goes for choosing what you want to drink. It might seem dramatic, but picking something to drink that compliments the dish, truly does make a big difference in how flavours are perceived. When choosing wine or beer, both should seek to cater to the dominant flavour of the dish. Going for wine, your preferences ultimately dictate which on you should pick, but choosing one that sits well with the cheese, elevates the dish to a new level. The vibrant and delicate aromas from a Pinot Noir, and the bolder, stronger Cabernet Sauvignon makes for an equally fulfilling sensation when matched with the sharp finish of our Castello® Extra Mature Cheddar. Not a lot of dishes can match the simplicity of preparation, and still have the same sense of depth of flavour as macaroni and cheese. For good reason, macaroni and cheese has been a favourite among culinary experts and food lovers alike for centuries and can be enjoyed both plain or with a twist. Simple to make, it can easy-going or extravagant and most importantly, it makes for an incredibly delicious dish.