Baked Mac and Cheese from Scratch
your first roux: the base of creamy sauces and gravy
Home Cook
Total45 min
Active25 min
Free Time20 min
Tools
- Pot for pasta
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Baking dish (about 20 x 25 cm)
- Grater
Ingredients
Serves
- macaroni250 g
- butter40 g
- all-purpose flour40 g
- milk500 ml
- cheddar, grated200 g
- parmesan, grated50 g
- salt and pepper, to tasteto taste
- mustard powder or a pinch of nutmeg (optional)½ tsp
- breadcrumbs, for the topping (optional)30 g
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Why this works
- The roux, fat and flour cooked together and then loosened gradually with liquid, is the technique at the heart of this recipe. The same base underlies gravies, white sauce and countless other sauces.
- Trusting the gradual-addition process, rather than dumping the liquid in all at once, pays off in every sauce you make from here on.