Macaroni Cheese
Creamy and rich with the flavours of our award-winning Daylesford Cheddar and Daylesford Adlestrop cheeses, topped with smoky bacon, parmesan and crunchy sourdough breadcrumbs.
2 medium leeks, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
100g butter
100g plain flour
1200ml warmed milk
200g Daylesford Cheddar, grated (plus 50g for topping)
200g Adlestrop cheese, grated
500g macaroni pasta
4 rashers bacon, cooked and finely chopped
150g sourdough breadcrumbs (roughly 3 slices of sourdough)
50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
Tip the leeks and garlic into a pan with 1bsp olive oil and set over a medium heat. Cook for 1 minute before turning the heat right down. Allow the leeks to soften and sweeten for a good 8-10 minutes.
Melt the butter in the same pan as the leeks, when melted, whisk in the flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes before gradually whisking in the warm milk, whisking over the heat for 3-4 minutes or until it forms a thick creamy sauce. Season very well with salt and pepper – the more pepper the better – before tipping in the grated cheeses and whisking until incorporated.
Boil the pasta in salted water until aldente. Strain and return the pasta to the pan. Pour over the cheese sauce and mix well. Transfer the creamy pasta to an oven proof dish, or shallow casserole and spread out evenly.
Toast the sourdough and allow to cool slightly before placing in a blender and blitz until it forms coarse breadcrumbs. Meanwhile, fry off the bacon in a pan before finely chopping. Tip the breadcrumbs and bacon into a bowl and grate in the parmesan. Toss everything together, with more black pepper, before scattering the mixture evenly over the top of the pasta.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and golden on top.
