Veggie filled macaroni cheese
Ingredients
Veggie Base
- 250 g bacon or omit for a vegetarian version
- olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 large red onion diced
- 3 leeks chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or minced
- 250 g punnet of mushrooms chopped
- 1 small red or yello pepper diced
- 2 ripe tomatoes chopped
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tsp marjoram
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large handful of baby spinach chopped
Cheese Sauce
- 100 g butter
- 100 g all-purpose flout
- 1 l milk can add more if the sauce is too thick
- a pinch of grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- a cup of grated cheddar cheese, with some extra for sprinkling on top
Pasta
- 500 g packet of macaroni
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180˚C
Veggie base
- Use a large heavy based pan
- Fry the bacon with a little butter until crispy and remove from the pan. Chop up into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Use the same pan – add a splash of olive oil orcoconut oil.
- Fry the onion and leeks on a medium heat untilsoftened.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms – don’t let it burn
- Once the mushrooms’ liquid has cooked away, add the tomatoes, pepper, herbs and smoked paprika
- Keep on a medium heat and allow to cook for a few minutes.
- Add bacon back to the pan and stir through.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Remove pan from the heat, stir in the baby spinach and set aside.
Cheese Sauce
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over a low heat
- Stir in the flour until well combined with the melted butter
- Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously with a whisk to avoid the sauce becoming lumpy
- Once all the milk has been added gradually bring to the boil, stirring until the sauce thickens.
- Add the grated cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.
- Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Pasta
- Cook the macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water according to packet instructions.
- Remove from the water when just tender – it will get a little softer in the oven.
Macaroni Cheese
- Use a large deep oven dish.
- Combine the macaroni with the vegetables in the oven dish.
- Mixing the cheese sauce evenly.
- Top with extra grated cheese and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and is darkening slightly.
- Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.