- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- Cheese Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp white flour
- 1 cup cream
- 2 cups milk (or you could have 3 cups low fat milk instead as well for less richness)
- 1/2 lb sharp cheddar (grated)
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Bread Crumb mixture:
- 1-2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
- 2 tbsp butter
- Heat butter and add crumbs mix well and set aside
- Heat oven to 400 F. Boil enough water for the macaroni;
- Simultaneously, boil the milk and cream with 2 bay leaves
- Cook macaroni for about 5 mins and take off the heat while still not fully cooked. Pour cold water to stop cooking and set aside
- Heat butter and when it is melted, add flour and keep whisking in low heat until the flour mixture turns mildly brown
- Take bayleaves off the milk and add the milk slowly while whisking vigorously. Flour is going to absorb milk and bulk up so you want to make sure there are no lumps forming when that happens.
- Increase heat, add all of the milk and keep stirring to make a sauce of thick consistency
- Add cheddar cheese to the sauce, lower the heat and stir well
- Add sauce to the macaroni; Mix well; Add parmesan cheese
- You can use 9x13 baking dish or 2 casserole dishes for this after greasing the dishes. Bake at 400 F for about 15 mins or until the it bubbles and the crumbs turn brown.
I am trying variations like the several ones suggested by Mark in his How To Cook Everything Vegetarian book and Aarti.
