Mac and Cheese

Daniel Lim
Daniel Lim @fatdoughsg
Singapore

Finally, it is here! I had been wanting to make this dish for as long as I can remember. My daughters have been requesting for this for ages. Perhaps I couldn't find a great mac n cheese recipe, I mean I'd tried my fair share of mac n cheese, home-cooked and at eateries. I wasn't at all impressed. Sure, some are Instagram-worthy with all that photogenic cheese pull but most fall flat on flavors.

They were either too gloopy or too blend without much depth in flavors. Some of the cheese sauces are too over-powering which kinda makes me wanna throw up. Yes, it is that bad. And please don't get me started on the bread crumbs. I also had tried my hands on some of the celebrity chef's recipes, but I still wasn't impress. Until I stumbled upon Heston Blumenthal's version. He is right, you will never cook mac n cheese the same way again.

He is right about the typical cheese sauce or mornay sauce whereby it starts with a roux and mixing in the milk and cheese. The roux will somehow makes the sauce gloopy and mask the flavors of the cheese. He switched the traditional ingredients and methods out for 4 simple elements: wine, stock, corn flour and cheese. I was a bit mindblown cos I finally found someone who agrees with me. Without much hesitation, I went ahead with his recipe and guess what? He also uses the same pasta cooking method as I am. How cool is that?

Mac and Cheese

Finally, it is here! I had been wanting to make this dish for as long as I can remember. My daughters have been requesting for this for ages. Perhaps I couldn't find a great mac n cheese recipe, I mean I'd tried my fair share of mac n cheese, home-cooked and at eateries. I wasn't at all impressed. Sure, some are Instagram-worthy with all that photogenic cheese pull but most fall flat on flavors.

They were either too gloopy or too blend without much depth in flavors. Some of the cheese sauces are too over-powering which kinda makes me wanna throw up. Yes, it is that bad. And please don't get me started on the bread crumbs. I also had tried my hands on some of the celebrity chef's recipes, but I still wasn't impress. Until I stumbled upon Heston Blumenthal's version. He is right, you will never cook mac n cheese the same way again.

He is right about the typical cheese sauce or mornay sauce whereby it starts with a roux and mixing in the milk and cheese. The roux will somehow makes the sauce gloopy and mask the flavors of the cheese. He switched the traditional ingredients and methods out for 4 simple elements: wine, stock, corn flour and cheese. I was a bit mindblown cos I finally found someone who agrees with me. Without much hesitation, I went ahead with his recipe and guess what? He also uses the same pasta cooking method as I am. How cool is that?

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Ingredients

  1. 200 gAlce Nero's Macaroni,
  2. 300 gWhite Wine Preferably Sauvignon Blanc,
  3. 300 gGood Quality Chicken Stock,
  4. Pecorino Romano Freshly Grated, 80g + More For Garnishing
  5. 10 gCorn Flour,
  6. 80 gCream Cheese Preferably Philadelphia Room Temperature,
  7. PinchBlack Pepper,
  8. PinchWhite Pepper,
  9. PinchCayenne,
  10. PinchNori Flakes,
  11. Greek Feta Cheese, A Few Crumbs
  12. Cured Egg Yolk, For Garnishing
  13. Herbs, For Garnishing

Cooking Instructions

  1. 1

    Pls visit: https://www.fatdough.sg/single-post/2019/05/17/How-To-Cure-Egg-Yolks for the cured egg yolk recipe.

  2. 2

    Preheat oven to broil.

    Cook Alce Nero's macaroni in a skillet with 400g of hot water over medium heat.

    *Do not add salt as the cheeses are already salty enuff.*

    Cook until al dente and the liquid should have almost evaporated.

  3. 3

    If the macaroni isn't cook when the liquid has evaporated, add in more hot water, 1/4 cup at a time.

    While the macaroni is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce concurrently.

    In a sauce pot over medium heat, add white wine.

    Reduce the wine to 30g.

  4. 4

    Add in chicken stock and stir to combine well.

    Turn the heat down to low.

    Bring it up to a slow gentle simmer.

  5. 5

    Meanwhile, mix pecorino and corn flour in a bowl until well combine.

    Add the cheese mixture into the sauce pot gradually while still stirring.

    Stir gently to combine well or until the cheese has melted.

  6. 6

    At this point, the macaroni should be cooked.

    Add the macaroni and all the pasta liquid into the cheese sauce.

    Add in the cream cheese.

    Stir gently to combine well or until the cream cheese has melted.

  7. 7

    Remove from heat and stir to combine well, making sure the macaroni is well coated.

    Add in pepper, cayenne and nori flakes.

    Give it a final stir

    Transfer into a baking casserole.

  8. 8

    Dollops some feta cheese onto the mac n cheese.

    Lastly, grate some more pecorino over the top.

    Wack into the oven and broil until the cheese is slightly burnt.

  9. 9

    Serve with a sprinkle of green herbs of your choice. I used basil.

    Grate cured egg yolk over the top.

    Serve immediately.

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Daniel Lim
Daniel Lim @fatdoughsg
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Singapore
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