I don’t think there’s ever been a situation where I haven’t liked mac and cheese. Well, there might be those years when I was a toddler and all I ate was Weet-Bix (sounds familiaaaaaar), but in all the years I’ve been conscious of cheese, I’ve loved mac and cheese.
Having said that, I’m pretty sure I’ve never made it with actual macaroni. I should rectify this. I usually make it with some kind of small pasta (shells are good) and more sauce than you think you need. More cheese, too. Aaaaaand more salt.
Nothing worse than a stodgy bowl of not much flavour. Especially when you were SO looking forward to a bowl of mac and cheese, and especially when you’ve grown accustomed to salty processed box mac and cheese which, given the chance, I will still eat.
But the crispy top on this gets me every damn time. Plus there’s tons, and it reheats well the next day, and that’s basically the holy grail of mac and cheese for me. I hope you like it.
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PinDescription
d cheese with sweet sundried tomatoes. You won’t regret it!
Ingredients
- 2–3 cups dried small pasta
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup white flour
- 1/2 Small onion
- 2 Large cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 cups Whole milk
- 1 Small bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon good dijon mustard
- 2 cups grated tasty cheese
- 1 cup sundried (or semi-dried) tomatoes, halved (if using sundried tomatoes, rehydrate in a boiling water to cover for 10 minutes first)
- 50g feta cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Bring to the boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta 10 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat and sweat the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook 1 minute.
- Add the milk to the butter and flour roux, whisking all the while. Add bay leaf and mustard.
- Whisk until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Take off the heat and add the cheese, stirring to incorporate. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain your pasta and put in the casserole dish. Mix through the sundried tomato and feta.
- Stir through the sauce and cover with breadcrumbs and a little extra grated cheese.
- Bake 20-30 minutes until bubbling and golden-brown.
Keywords: mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, tomato mac and cheese, sundried tomato macaroni and cheese
Amy at love made my home says
September 24, 2014 at 4:17 amMy hubby made a wonderful mac and cheese on Saturday with a some crispy breadcrumbs and bacon bits on top, that made it wonderful! I love the idea of the sundried tomatoes!!! xx
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 8:53 amThe crispy breadcrumbs really give it that edge!
Desiree Fawn says
September 24, 2014 at 4:48 amOooh it looks delicious. Mac n’ cheese is my favourite comfort food. Gimme, gimme!
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 8:52 amMe too! That and mashed potatoes.
Desiree Fawn says
September 24, 2014 at 9:31 amOh gosh, yes. A few years ago I had a brutal tooth abscess/root canal situation and my face hurt so much all I could eat was mashed potatoes. My fave pub made a red potato mash thing that was HEAVENLY.
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 9:34 amThat’s the best! I got my tongue pierced at one point, and could only eat mush. Mashed potato to the rescue!
Desiree Fawn says
September 24, 2014 at 11:51 pmI had a very similar experience. I survived off of Lipton chicken noodle soup 😉
Pinky Poinker says
September 24, 2014 at 9:08 amThat looks seriously scrumptious! Love a crusty top. This is my husband’s favourite food and the recipe looks like something even I could handle. By the way those lettuce cupcakes in yesterday’s post were outstanding. I tried to comment but things were being silly on my computer. I loved the little signs 🙂
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 9:31 amhahah they looked ridiculous, but I think the signs gave them some context 😉
Laura Fisher says
September 24, 2014 at 9:26 amI think you’ve taken mac to the next level. I’ve tried to convince myself for a while that cauli cheese is just as good but lets be honest here, you can’t beat the mac. Might be putting this on the menu next week. Yum!
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 9:31 amAh, but have you tried this? http://theveggiemama.com/2011/10/healthy-mac-and-cheese/
vegeTARAian says
September 24, 2014 at 5:31 pmTasty cheese and feta? Damn girl – NAILED IT.
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 8:02 pmHaha ALL OF THE CHEESE! Sometimes I even add mozzarella…
cannahanda says
September 24, 2014 at 5:49 pmWhoa that recipe might just get 12 yr old vegetarian lass who HATES pasta to maybe, just maybe, like it.. 😛
Veggie Mama says
September 24, 2014 at 8:02 pmIt’s really more cheese than it is pasta 😉 Good luck!
Joyce @ TOT: HOT OR NOT says
September 24, 2014 at 8:53 pmSalivating! Unfortunately husband has an aversion to white sauce of any description….
Veggie Mama says
September 25, 2014 at 8:12 pmnoooooo! I passed by his office on Tuesday and thought of you guys 🙂
The Plumbette says
September 25, 2014 at 2:16 pmMight try this with my girls. They are loving pasta bakes at the moment.
Veggie Mama says
September 25, 2014 at 8:12 pmOoh I hope they like it! Neither of mine will eat this 🙁
nicole kane says
September 26, 2014 at 9:12 pmholy mac and cheese batman. i freaking love macaroni and cheese. so. much.
Veggie Mama says
September 26, 2014 at 9:21 pmGod, so do I. What would the world be like if it wasn’t available? HORRIBLE.
Shari says
September 27, 2014 at 10:10 amI haven’t really made mac and cheese much – I made a ‘version’ the other day for Mr Moo with chicken breast and lots of veggies (so probably more of a pasta bake then mac and cheese), but this sounds good!
Veggie Mama says
September 29, 2014 at 9:43 pmMac and cheese pretty much is pasta bake, but nobody told the Americans that 🙂
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile says
September 28, 2014 at 8:52 pmI made this tonight and added some bacon too. It was amazing!!! My hubby and I both LOVED it! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂 xxx
Veggie Mama says
September 29, 2014 at 9:42 pmI’ll have to take your word for it! Everything’s better with bacon 😉