OVER-THE-TOP MAC & CHEESE

Some recipes deserve a little extra care, and in the spirit of that belief, this recipe pulls out all the stops to make an extra-luscious and complex mac-and-cheese. The milk and cream is infused with fresh garlic, onion, bay leaf, and peppercorns before being whisked into a roux that melds with four different cheeses into a creamy, tangy bechamel. The pasta is boiled in stock rather than water to maximise the flavour of the elbows, and the whole dish is topped with buttery-parmesan breadcrumbs made from our milk loaf. Eat it with some hot sauce or some pickles, or just enjoy it on its own—-either way, you won’t be disappointed.

Active Time: 50 mins

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Equipment: 2.5L casserole dish, large pot, whisk, wooden spoon, pasta strainer

Bechamel

3 cups (750 ml) whole milk

1  cup (250 ml) cream

1 onion, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns

1 Tbsp. flake salt

½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter

½ cup (63 g) flour

Pasta

2L stock

1 Tbsp. fine salt

450 g dried elbow pasta

1 Tbsp. butter

Cheese Mixture

2 ½ cups (275 g) freshly grated Colby cheese

1 ½ (150 g) cups freshly grated Gruyere

1 cup (100 g) freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 ½ (150) cup freshly grated Gouda cheese 

Milk Loaf Topping

2 (3-cm thick) slices (150 g) Grizzly Milk Loaf, torn into 2 cm pieces

3 Tbsp. (42 g) melted butter

3 Tbsp. (30 g) finely grated Parmesan 

Pinch flaky salt

METHOD:

Combine milk, cream, onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt in a large pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just steaming. Remove from heat and set aside to infuse.

Bring stock to boil and season with salt. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Strain elbows and add to a large mixing bowl with butter, stirring to coat the pasta. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 175°C and grease a 2.5L (or any large) casserole dish with butter; set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine cheeses and set aside. Strain the infused milk mixture to remove onion, bay leaf, and peppercorns. In a large pot over medium heat, add the ½ cup unsalted butter and move around with a wooden spoon to melt. Once melted, add the flour and stir constantly, regularly scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture bubbles and the flour begins to toast, about 4 minutes. Grab a whisk and slowly stream in half of the strained milk mixture, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. Add the remaining milk mixture and continue to whisk until the sauce begins to form thick bubbles, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add half of the cheese mixture, whisking until the bechamel is fully smooth. Reserve remaining cheese for next step.

Add bechamel to pasta and stir with wooden spoon to coat pasta. Pour one third of the pasta into the baking dish, spreading evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese mixture over the pasta layer. Pour another third of the pasta on top of the cheese layer and spread evenly again. Sprinkle the last of the cheese mixture over this pasta layer, and cover that with the last remaining pasta. Transfer baking dish to the oven for 15 minutes.

Mix together torn bread, melted butter, Parmesan, and flaky salt until evenly coated. Pile on top of mac and cheese, pressing slightly to encourage the pieces to stick to the past. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before enjoying.