Macaroni Cheese : Bake-Along #66

Time for our Bake-Along #66, our theme is "Baked Pasta", selected by Lena and everyone is welcome to join us. 

Baked Pasta is one of my kids' favourite. I wonder why kids love Mac and Cheese so much! Baked Pasta is one of the most requested meals whenever my kids have their cousins staying over, and I've made some tomato based Baked Pasta for my son's birthday last July when he invited his friends over. And when I made this Macaroni Cheese two weeks later, both my son and daughter are all smiles! 

This yummy recipe is from Rachel Allen's "Favourite Food At Home". Rachel has suggested that small pieces of cooked ham or bacon can be added to the sauce, so that's what I did, I added some chopped ham.

Really easy to make, I cooked the sauce, by first sauteing the chopped onions until soft, add in the chopped ham, stir for a minute, then the flour, followed by milk, adding it gradually while whisking all the time. Add the mustard, and most of the cheese, whisking till the cheese are melted. Season with salt and pepper and I added a little more of the mustard, to taste, as we love mustard. Boil the pasta just until al dente, toss them together with sauce and transfer to a baking dish. About 30 minutes before eating, I scattered some cheese, which I've used a mixture of grated Cheddar and Mozzarella, bake in a preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve while still warm.

This is quite delicious! Creamy, cheesy and very tasty! 

Macaroni Cheese
(adapted from "Rachel's Favourite Food At Home", Rachel Allen)
75gm (3oz) butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
75gm (3oz) plain flour
900ml (1-1/2 pints) boiling milk
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
225gm (8oz) cheese (Cheddar, or even better, half Cheddar and half Gruyere), grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300gm (11oz) macaroni pasta
some chopped ham (my addition)

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onions and cook gently until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk, whisking all the time, and the mustard. Whisk in three-quarters of the cheese and allow to melt into the sauce, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water with a teaspoon of salt, until just soft. Drain, then toss into the cheese sauce and transfer into a gratin dish, about 25cm (10in) square. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pop under a hot grill for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top, or if you wish, put this aside for later. To reheat, put the dish into an oven preheated to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6 for about 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

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To view all the delicious Baked Pasta that everyone has made, please visit Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, our bake is Plum Tartlets (recipe from Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook, pg 133 or here). Bake this Plum Tartlets and join us! The linky will start on 21st August until 30th August. Everyone is welcome! 

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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and I'm sharing this post with :
Little Thumbs Up event organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Doreen of My Little Favourite D.I.Y, and hosted by Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Cook-Your-Books #15 @ kitchen flavours

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