Spicy Tomato Oven Macaroni Cheese

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Jasmine

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It’s officially cosy season, which to me means comfort food! I love macaroni cheese and I’ll definitely share my ‘classic’ recipe this Autumn / Winter, but today we’re doing a bit of a twist on it…

INGREDIENTS

Dried pasta:

Conchiglie (or any other pasta shape that can capture plenty of sauce)

Sauce base:

Butter

Garlic

Flour

Whole milk

Cheddar cheese (for flavour)

Italian hard cheese (parmesan works if you don’t mind animal rennet – otherwise any fully-vegetarian version)

Comté or Gruyère (or an animal rennet free semi-hard alternative, for the melt)

Double cream

Added extras:

Tomato paste

Nutmeg

Oregano

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Smoked paprika

Topping:

Buffalo mozzarella (non-DOP if avoiding animal rennet, or another type of mozzarella)

Fresh chives (parsley will also work)

TIPS

This is a really simple recipe; you’re just making the Mornay (Béchamel + cheese) with a few added extras like the spices and the tomato paste. I’ve been a little vague with the amount of milk to use purely because some people like that really runny sauce and others prefer a richer, less ‘wet’ pasta bake.

The ‘rule’ I always follow for the best Mornay sauce is that I use a mix of cheeses to contribute different qualities to the flavour and texture of the sauce. Cheddar is just an essential! It gives your sauce that classic ‘cheesy’ taste with its sharpness. The hard cheese adds more of a complex flavour profile, as well as browning really nicely. Comté or Gruyère have a nutty quality I really love and are excellent melting cheeses so you get that satisfying ‘stringiness’.

Make sure you cook the pasta to just less than al dente (so, if the pack says 10 minutes cook time, I’d go for 7) because it will continue cooking in the sauce when it’s in the oven. Also, make sure you do your initial bake with the dish covered in tin foil to prevent it drying out. You can then remove it for the final 10 minutes under the grill to get a crispy golden finish.

Spicy Tomato Macaroni Cheese

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

A cosy, tomato-y take on a classic

No special equipment or advance prep needed.

Ingredients

  • 300g of Conchiglie pasta
  • 50g of butter
  • 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
  • 50g of flour
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1/2 a tsp of cayenne pepper (half this to dial back the heat)
  • 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • 1 tsp of oregano
  • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
  • up to 1 pint of whole milk
  • 2 tbsp of double cream
  • 150g of cheddar cheese (grated)
  • 50g of Italian hard cheese (finely grated)
  • 50g of semi-hard cheese (grated)
  • 60g of mozzarella (slice if not already in pearl form)
  • 4 sprigs of fresh chive (chopped)
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C and boil the kettle
  2. In a large, wide-based pan, melt the butter over a medium heat
  3. Bring the water to a rolling boil in a second saucepan, salt the water and then add the pasta – cook until just shy of al dente, drain and set aside
  4. Cook the garlic in the melted butter for a couple of minutes until fragrant
  5. Add in the flour and whisk together
  6. Add in the tomato paste and continue whisking
  7. Add in the spices and continue whisking
  8. Reduce the heat slightly to low-medium and begin gradually adding in the milk in small batches, whisking in-between each batch so its integrated with the roux
  9. Once the sauce is slightly runnier than your desired consistency, turn off the heat and begin adding in the cheese gradually, whisking it in and allowing it to melt (reserve around 1/4 to 1/3 for the topping)
  10. Once the cheese is melted, whisk in the double cream, season to taste and turn the heat off the pan
  11. Combine the cooked pasta with the sauce, ensuring it’s completely coated
  12. Add the mixture to an oven dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheese mix
  13. Add your pieces of mozzarella (ensuring that when it melts it will cover most of the top of the pasta)
  14. Cover the oven dish with foil and bake for around 20-25 minutes
  15. Remove the foil and add more of the cheese if there are any uncovered patches
  16. Switch to the grill setting on your oven (at a medium temperature) and cook the macaroni cheese under it for a further 10 minutes until the cheese topping is golden
  17. Finish with a little extra seasoning and serve with the fresh chive

I can’t get enough of this warming pasta bake at the moment – let me know if you give it a try!

Also, don’t forget, demos of my recipes can be found on Instagram:

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