How do you cook… macaroni cheese?

A tasty, simple pasta dish the whole family loves, but there are many ways to jazz it up.

Macaroni cheese is a straightforward midweek meal that has been loved for generations.

Over time, people have discovered new twists for a classic recipe to make it even better than the original. How do you invigorate your mac cheese?

The sauce

Do you make a roux to start things off? This is a simple mix of melted butter with a tablespoon or so of flour that helps to thicken up the cheese sauce. Or do you jump straight in – and if so, do you prefer to use milk or single cream?

What cheese works the best? Cheddar is the ‘standard’, but do you have a more exciting alternative that you like to use? Do you ever mix in parmesan cheese during the cooking process, or wait until the end and add a fine grating instead?

The pasta

What kind of macaroni do you use? Durum wheat, wholewheat, or another kind of pasta? Or do you even prefer to use another shape, like fusilli or farfalle, with a macaroni sauce?

Should you serve pasta when it’s ‘al dente’ or when it’s tender? Is it best to simply stir the pasta into the sauce and enjoy, or do you like to pour it into a casserole dish and cook it in the oven to create a crispy topping?

Other ingredients

Here come the extras. Are you a pasta puritan, and stave off all temptation to add anything else into your mac cheese, or are you keen on getting some meat and veg into the dish?

Chopped up bacon or pancetta works really nicely and spreads salty flavour through the sauce, while vegetables like peas, small pieces of broccoli and mushrooms can be added to achieve a varied texture and get some goodness into what is, admittedly, not the healthiest of dishes, even if it is delicious.

Here's a recipe with soft boiled eggs recipe, another with grilled tomatoes while this one adds crayfish.

One thing we think that everyone can agree on is that tinned macaroni should be avoided at all costs. That glue-like consistency and ‘sweet’ cheese tang is disgusting.

How do you cook your macaroni cheese? Let us know your methods and any secret ingredients in the Comments below.

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Macaroni cheese with soft boiled eggs recipe

Crayfish macaroni cheese recipe

Macaroni cheese with grilled tomatoes recipe