Quick dinner in less than 30 minutes.
Growing up in South Africa I was so used to an oven and never considered that many cultures do not make use of them at all. While I was living in China, I had to come up with recipes that were not only easy to make but that also only made use of a stovetop. For more than a year I cooked on two gas burners and I must say I surprised myself with all of the different things that I was able to make. I looked at a few different mac and cheese recipes and ultimately combined them and added a few of my own steps and ingredients to come up with this dish. This recipe can feed 6-8 people but it can easily be halved in order to feed fewer individuals.
Ingredients:
500g macaroni or any pasta shell that you prefer
250g bacon bits (you can leave this out if you want a meat-free dish)
1 medium onion
1 tsp garlic
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar or Worchester sauce
1 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
pinch of salt
1 tsp mustard
3 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
750ml milk
1 cup of cheddar cheese (or any cheese that melts easily. You can also add more than one kind of cheese but as I made this recipe a lot in China, I did not have access to different types of cheese.)
1 cup of pasta water
Instructions:
1. Bring water to a boil and add salt to the water.
2. While the water is boiling, chop your onion into small pieces. Grab a pot that will be big enough to make your sauce in. Then cook the onions in a tbsp of oil until they are translucent. Once the onions are cooked, add in balsamic vinegar, salt, dried herbs, and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. If you are going to add bacon, then cook the bacon in a separate pan while the water is boiling. Once the bacon is cooked set it aside as it will be used later.
3. By this point, the water should be boiling so add the pasta to the water. Check on the packet of pasta you are using to see how long it has to cook for. Once your pasta is in and has started to cook, grab one cup of water from the pot that the pasta is cooking in. This water will be used in the final assembly in order to emulsify all of the ingredients and thin out the sauce a bit. While the pasta is boiling you are going to start on the sauce.
4. In the same pot as the onions, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add in the flour. Whisk the flour and butter mixture together and cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep your heat on medium as you do not want anything to burn at this point. Then slowly add in the milk bit by bit. Continue to whisk as you are adding the milk. If you add all of the milk at once the sauce will take much longer to thicken. Add salt to taste. Also, add in the mustard and one more tsp of balsamic vinegar.
5. Once the sauce has thickened, add in the cheese and mix it all together.
6. The pasta should be ready by now, so go ahead and strain your pasta. Add the pasta and bacon to the cheesy sauce. Mix it all together and add half of the cup of pasta water that you reserved earlier. If your sauce is still too thick then add more of the water gradually.
7. Serve immediately. You can top it with more cheese once it is served.
And there we have it. Super easy mac and cheese. Let me know if you try this recipe. Head over to my Instagram to see more of my cooking, baking and traveling.
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