Mac and Cheese

Side Comfort

Serves 4-6

Prep 10 min

Cook 25 min

Our take on a classic, easy, one pot mac and cheese. The perfect comfort food and a blank canvas to let your imagination run wild. Follow our base recipe enjoying the creamy cheesiness at its finest. Or, add in chilli flakes, za'atar, your favourite hot sauce to give an additional spices, texture or chilli hit.

This recipe is adaptable to scale up for a crowd, or reduce and make for a solo dinner with extra for forthcoming days. View more Ottolenghi pasta recipes, create and account to hit save for any you would like to come back to.

Ingredients

3 tsp	cornflour
700ml	whole milk
300g	dried cavatappi pasta (or fusilli)
65g	unsalted butter, cut into roughly 3cm cubes
3	garlic cloves, crushed
75ml	double cream
150g	mature cheddar, grated
180g	feta, roughly crumbled
	black pepper
	flaked sea salt

Method

Put the cornflour into a wide ovenproof sauté pan and slowly whisk in the milk and 350 ml water. Add in the dried pasta, butter, garlic, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt, and place on a medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–14 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Add in the cheddar a little at a time, mixing continuously to make a smooth, creamy sauce. Set aside.
Turn the grill on to 240C. Break the feta into different sized chunks and sprinkle over the pasta. Slide the pan under the grill for 7-8 minutes until nicely browned on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute before serving straight from the pan.

All done
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Test Kitchen notes on Pasta & Cheese
We’ve suggested using Cavatappi pasta - a corkscrew shaped, hollow tube pasta. With its large surface area and hollow centre it is perfect for absorbing the macaroni cheese sauce for a rich and comforting dish.
Alternatively Fusilli shares the same corkscrew shape, but is flat, rather than hollow.
Regarding our cheese choice, we have used a mix of a good quality cheddar in the sauce and a tangy feta to give a different texture and taste on top.
Please comment and share your cooking notes for this macaroni cheese recipe.