Macaroni and cheese is a staple in my kitchen and this is a really fantastic recipe that can be made with or without the bacon. It is really easy to vary a macaroni and cheese recipe by adding you favorite tasty extras like bacon, Vienna’s or even left over chicken. Macaroni and cheese makes for a really hearty meal.

What you need

500g macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
1/2 cup onion finely copped
pinch paprika
250g bacon (sliced Vienna’s are great as well)
1 egg lightly beaten
350g cheddar grated
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper

1 cup bread crumbs

The process

Preheat oven to 200 Celsius, put a large pot of water on to boil, add salt and when the water is boiling, add a teaspoon of salt and your pasta. Follow the cooking times on your pasta package cooking until the pasta is al dente.

Cook the bacon and onion together is a separate pan until onion is translucent, remove from the heat.

In a pot on a medium heat melt the butter and when foaming add the flour, mix well with a spoon or whisk, add the mustard powder and mix constantly for 3 minutes or so to cook the flour. Add the milk and whisk furiously until the mixture is smooth, add the paprika and cooked bacon and onion mix, reduce heat and simmer slowly while you add the egg, 200g of the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the mixture from the heat, drain the pasta and add to the cheese mix, fold it all together distributing the pasta evenly.

Pour the entire contents into a casserole dish and sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.

Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the topping is brown and crisp.

Serve immediately.

You can get a little creative and add peppadews to the topping as well as a few more bits of bacon. Have a look through some of the other pasta recipes. or this 3 cheese bolognese pasta recipe