Mac and Cheese | Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe
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Serves: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
  • Elbow macaroni – 500 gms
  • Unsalted butter – 50 gms (about ¼ cup)
  • All-purpose flour – ¼ cup
  • Dried thyme – ¼ tsp
  • Paprika (or Cayenne pepper) – ¼ tsp
  • Milk – 3 cups, at room temperature
  • Nutmeg – ⅛ tsp
  • Worcestershire sauce – ¼ tsp
  • Cheddar cheese – 3 cups, grated
  • Mozzarella cheese – 1 cup, grated
  • Panko breadcrumbs – ½ cup to ¾ cup
  • Melted butter – 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the macaroni in heavily salted boiling water but cook it for couple of minutes less than the time mentioned on packet instructions since we will bake the macaroni in the oven for good 20 minutes. Drain and set aside until needed.
  2. Heat a sauté pan with high sides. Add the unsalted butter to it and let it melt keeping the heat on low so that butter doesn’t burn. Once the butter is completely melted, add the all-purpose flour and whisk it continuously to avoid forming any lump.
  3. Cook the flour for couple of minutes on low flame until the raw smell is gone and it turns light golden in color. Add the dried thyme and paprika or cayenne. Give a good mix.
  4. Next add 1 cup of milk and whisk thoroughly. Do not add all the milk in the beginning as it may become difficult to whisk and break all the lumps which the flour will form.
  5. Whisk generously so that all the flour is dissolved and the sauce becomes smooth. As the milk comes to boil, sauce will start to thicken.
  6. Then add rest of the milk. Stir through using a wire whisk or spatula. Let the sauce come to a boil. Add the nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce. Mix.
  7. Now it’s the time to add the grated cheese. Add 1 cup of the grated cheddar cheese. Gently stir them in. Cheese will take about 5 to 7 minutes to completely melt into the sauce.
  8. Add another 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and half a cup of grated mozzarella. Mix well. Season the sauce with salt to taste.
  9. The sauce would be nicely thick by now making it a luscious and smoothest cheese sauce ever. Switch the flame off and start assembling the mac and cheese.
  10. Take a deep baking pan and add the cooked macaroni. Then pour the prepared cheese sauce in 3 installments mixing it thoroughly after each addition. Make sure each macaroni is coated with the cheese sauce.
  11. Smooth out the top of coated macaroni to create a flat surface for the remaining grated cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and half a cup of grated mozzarella all over covering the top of the coated mac.
  12. Finally, sprinkle the panko breadcrumbs over the grated cheese covering top surface completely. Drizzle the melted butter on top for a beautiful golden crust.
  13. Preheat your oven to 200 C / 400 F and bake the assembled mac and cheese for 20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn golden on top and the sauce bubbles below.
  14. Serve the warm mac and cheese and enjoy the world’s most loved comfort food!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2018/09/mac-and-cheese-homemade-baked-mac-and-cheese-recipe/