Ingredients (For Four)

• 1/2 Stick of unsalted butter
• 3/4 Cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 Cups of milk
• 1 Cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1 Cup White mature/sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 3/4 Cup cream cheese
• 3 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 Red onion (thinly sliced)
• Salt, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, garlic power
• 1.5tbsp Yellow mustard
• Four portions of pasta (pre-cooked to be al dente, I used pasta shells instead of actual macaroni here)
• Optional: Breadcrumbs (I just crumble up ends of loaves rather than buying them in store)

Method

1. Fry the red onion and garlic on a low setting for 10 minutes before setting aside
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted add the flour little by little on a low heat to form a roux. You may need less or more flour
3. Slowly add the milk to this roux, making sure to keep stirring to avoid lumps. Once you get to a smooth sauce stop adding the milk. Again you might need more or less than the amount mentioned
4. Keep the heat to a minimum, depending on the hob type you have perhaps turn it off completely and keep the pan on there, and add in the cheeses and cream cheese. Give it all a good mix through to ensure it is melted and combined before removing from the heat fully
5. Add the seasonings, levels to your taste, and the yellow mustard to the cheese sauce
6. Mix in the red onion, garlic and pasta before transferring to an oven safe metal tray. If you want to top with breadcrumbs or additional shredded cheese do so here (I would usually do a combination of both but didn’t want to add too much more cheese as the oils released for any leftovers can sometimes give it funny mouth feels)
7. When you are ready to cook do it at around 400°F for 30 minutes

Eating And Storage Tips

You can make this dish up in advance; Both in the sense of doing the sauce and pasta and combining it before holding off on cooking it in the oven or in the sense of cooking it in the oven and then reheating portions as and when required. This makes it great for a family that might have multiple eating schedules or to scale the recipe up for larger portions to have throughout the week.

The cooked version of this dish can safely be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days and safe to eat cold although this does mean that it will have a very different texture as the cheese sauce will be a lot more ‘solid’ in consistency than if it is reheated for a couple of minutes in the microwave or about 15-20 minutes in a medium temperature oven.

You can of course add many other ingredients to this recipe; Bacon, chicken, vegetables to make it a hybrid of a cauliflower cheese and pasta dish are just a few examples.