May 30, 2010

Macaroni, Mushroom and Cheese Bake


I would say this macaroni and cheese recipe from Jamie Oliver is one of the swear-to-god-ly easy recipe ever invented. No bechamel sauce is needed. Look at the short and clean ingredients list, you only need that few things to come up with a gigantic, delicious and comforting dish.

My previous mac-n-cheese attempts were always dry, not cheesy and most importantly the leftovers did not reheat well.

The cheese and cream melt-together sauce in this recipe completely solves this problem. I didn't 100% follow the original recipe, I omitted the cauliflower, added mushroom and I used gouda cheese instead of parmesan, and it didn't taste half-bad.

(serves 4 - 6)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups sliced mushroom
1 tsp dried herb (thyme, basil or oregano)
1 lb macaroni
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated gouda cheese
1 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup breadcrumb

Directions:
Heat pan with olive oil. Add mushroom and dried herb. Stir until mushroom is cooked. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook macaronia until al dente, not fully cooked. Drain in a colander. Reserve the pasta water.

In a sauce pan, gently melt the cheese with cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir evenly until smooth.

Preheat over to 400F.

Transfer macaroni to a greased baking dish, pour in the melted cheese, mushroom and 1/4 cup pasta water. Stir to a silky consistency.

Sprinkle breadcrumb on top.

Grill macaroni on top shelf until golden and bubbling, about 10 minutes.

14 comments:

Belinda @zomppa said...

Love the combo with cheddar and gouda!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

sounds like a pretty darn good Mac & Cheese....have to admit I would rather not make a cream sauce first..
thanks for sharing

Fresh Local and Best said...

I like that there's no bechamel sauce to mess with. I like the contrast that earthy mushrooms give to the creamy mac and cheese.

bunkycooks said...

Sounds like a great combo for mac and cheese! I like the addition of mushrooms.

Jeannie said...

Looks good! My boys would love this.

Anonymous said...

interesting combination.

Angie's Recipes said...

Easy but looks super delicious!

Elin Chia said...

Hi lululu...this looks delicious..thanks for sharing this...all my favourite ingredients in one dish :)

MaryMoh said...

A lovely bake. This would make a lovely lunch for me.

Magic of Spice said...

Looks yummy! Love the cheese choices:)

Brian Samuels Photography said...

YUM! I bet this would be nice with some morels or some other wild mushrooms.

Looks great!

Claudia said...

Loving the mushrooms - perfect to offset the cream and all those delicious cheeses sing to me. Gorgeous!

Joy said...

MMMMmmm I DIE. I love mac and cheese with all my heart and soul -- I will have to try your recipe because Ive had the same problem of dealing with dry mac and cheese recipes... thanks for sharing!

Sook said...

I love homemade mac and cheese! Looks delicious!