Grilled Cheese Macaroni

Cheese macaroni or Mac-n-Cheese is a favorite pasta dish of children as well as adults. Many people think that this dish comes from Italy but in fact in Italy there is no such cuisine and the Italians themselves do not eat macaroni with cheese sauce.

This cuisine was created in England and popularized in America and from there spread to the rest of the world. There are various versions of this cuisine, here I will share my family’s favorite recipes.

To cook any pasta , make sure you use enough water and salt. This will ensure the pasta does not stick after cooking. If there is a lack of water, the starch from the pasta will make the pasta water sticky and this is what will make the pasta sticky.

The flavor of the cheese sauce is enhanced by adding a little onion powder and also paprika. Paprika will also make the color of the sauce more appealing. This dish can be eaten straight after combining macaroni with cheese sauce or can be baked with cheese topping and breadcrumbs ( rimah roti ). I use mozzarella cheese for a more melted cheese.

Ingredients ( 4 servings )

200g macaroni
Salt

Cheese Sauce

50g butter
50 g wheat flour
500ml ( 2 cups ) fresh milk
1 cans of evaporated milk
3 singles cheese pieces
80g grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoons of salt / to taste
1 teaspoon of McCormick onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of paprika

Topping Mac-n-Cheese Bakar

40g mozzarella cheese
30g Festive Italian herb breadcrumbs
20g of parmesan cheese

Method

1. Bring it to a boil 5-6 liters of water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
2. Add 200g of macaroni to 8-10 minutes depending on the brand of macaroni available to use. Can refer to the cooking guide on the package.
3. When the macaroni is cooked, toss and set aside.
4. For the cheese sauce, start by melting 50g of butter and add 50g of flour. Use a medium heat so that the butter does not burn. Do not add all at once but 25g first so that it is easy to mix.
5. Add the remaining 25g and cook until pale yellow.
6. Add 250ml of fresh milk and stir gently, if any use an egg beater so that it is easy to blend and does not clump.
7. Add 250ml or 1 cup fresh milk again and stir until well blended and then add 1 cans of evaporated milk.
8. Turn up the heat a little and stir until the sauce thickens a little.
9. Add 3 singles pieces of cheese and make sure the pieces of cheese dissolve in the sauce.
   10.Then add 80g of grated parmesan cheese. Parmesan cheese will give a stronger cheese flavor to the sauce.
10. Stir until the cheese dissolves and the sauce thickens.
11. Add 1 teaspoon of salt or to taste. Be careful because cheese also contains salt.
12. Add 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika.
13. Followed by the cooked macaroni. Add only half first and stir until well combined, then add the remaining macaroni.
14. The basic mac-n-cheese is ready to be served.
15. For Mac-n-cheese, heat the oven to 220°C.
16. Put one layer of mac-n-cheese in a suitable container or tin.
17. Coat with mozzarella cheese, Italian herb breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
18. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until layers of cheese and breadcrumbs are crisp and golden brown.