Most people remember their ‘Firsts’....Their first crush, Their first kiss, Their first broken heart and the first time that they did It!!
Well I can honestly say I cannot remember my first kiss. Nor do I have any recollection of my first crush. I do have some fuzzy memories of my first broken heart. And you guessed it, the first time i did it is rather hazy.
Before you judge me, I've not had so many encounters that I've lost count in a Michael Jordan sort of way, its just that I tend to skip over the less than memorable events in my life. So apologies if by some bizarre cosmic twist of fate you were one of those forgotten participants who just happen to be reading this.
I do know what the very first recipe I learned to cook was! To prove that I’m not loosing my mind in my rapidly gaining old age, it proceeded all of the above mentioned firsts! My gelatin loving grandmother chose the humble Macaroni & Cheese as the first dish she would teach me.
My grandmother was a very strict but loving figure at the time. She was an accomplish cook in her own right. After some badgering I convinced her to teach me how to cook something... anything! Finally she relented and tought me macaroni and cheese. Once at the stove I held the wooden handle of the avocado enamelled saucepan in trembling fear while I stirred the flour into the melted margarine with a wooden spoon to make a roux.
My grandmother imparted the importance of doing this over a medium heat to avoid burning the flour, but still cooking it long enough to eliminate the raw flour taste. In a separate pan we warmed some milk and slowly incorporate the warmed milk into the golden roux. Next she lowered the heat and instructed me to not stop stirring because we did not want it to catch. Next we added the cubes of cheese a few at a time, all the while I continued to stir until all the cheese was incorporated. ‘Now for the magic ingredient’ she said in a hushed voice as if to keep the family secret safe from prying neighbours ’a small pinch of nutmeg’
Voila that was my first cheese enriched béchamel. Not a bad thing to learn at 11 years old.
27 years of macaroni and cheese making later I’m pleased to say the technique has not changed, but the ingredients have. The margarine is replaced with butter, the reconstituted powdered milk is replaced with real milk and cream, and the shiny plastic cubes of processed cheese have been replaced by a host of different cheese. 90% of the time I still use the magic ingredient of nutmeg, all though now its freshly grated.
Over the years I’ve defined what I like in a macaroni and cheese. Paramount to anything else there is one star of a macaroni and cheese production and that is the cheese!! Any other ingredients are merely supporting characters. Next the macaroni and cheese needs to be baked, its time in the oven will produce a crunchy top that’s bubbling up the sides. This is best aided with a layer of bread crumb generously scattered over the top prior to baking. Everything else about a macaroni and cheese is up for discussion and that’s what makes it such a wonderful dish. You can come up with your own original take on the classic recipe.
Mac N' (Man)Chego
750ml whole milk
3 sprigs thyme
5 peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
25g flour
25g Butter
300g Manchego Cheese
50ml sherry
350g pasta (my pasta of choice is penne)
400g chorizo (cooking) casing removed and sliced into coin like discs.
2 onions, pealed and sliced in to thin strips.
100g bread crumbs
1tsp smoked paprika
Directions:
Combine the milk, 3 sprigs of thyme, peppercorns and cumin in a small sauce pan. Warm the milk until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. After it's infused, strain into a handled jug.
Before you grate the cheese remove about 1/2 an inch from the rind end. Typically this bit of the cheese is a a bit firmer in texture and stronger in flavour. Grate the rind on a fine micro-plane grater to use in the topping. Grate the rest of the cheese on a coarse cheese grater.
Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium heat, add the chorizo coins and slowly cook to render out the fat. Continue to cook until they have almost caramelized. Remove the chorizo from the pan to a plate, but retain the rendered fat. Gentry saute the onion in the chorizo fat until soft and translucent. Drain the onions from the fat and put them with the chorizo.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a shallow baking dish. A trick I like to use is to pour the weighed out dry pasta into the potential baking dish, this give you a guide at to the size of dish you need.
To make the roux, using another medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When the foaming subsides, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, until the flour and butter thicken into a paste, keep cooking it until it takes on a nutty brown colour and fragrant smell, this should take around 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth and blended. Bring the sauce to a boil, over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent lumping and scorching, then reduce the heat to low. If your sauce is lumpy and you have an immersion blender at hand fear not! You can use the blender to disperse any lumps. Cook this for about 20 minutes to thicken.
Add the coarse grated cheese and stir until blended. Season with salt and white pepper add the sherry and stir until blended.
Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the package instructions minus about 3 minutes. this will take it to just before until al dente (tender but firm to the bite). Drain well and rinse.
Transfer the macaroni to the cheese sauce and stir to combine. Add in the chorizo and onions then stir to evenly distribute the chorizo.
Place it in the prepared dish. Combine the reserved 'rind' grated cheese, smoked paprika and bread crumbs. generously scatter over the top. Bake in the preheated over for 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the edges are bubbling with goodness.
Serve with a leafy green salad!
