Mac and cheese is a modern classic, right? The easiest comfort food to turn to when you need a quick carb fix.
In the States it’s been dished up as a side for decades in diners, but we’re starting to cotton on to that in the UK, with mac and cheese appearing as a side order in restaurants and gastropubs – some of them serving it as a luxe option alongside steak, infused with truffle oil.
We love letting ours cool down, rolling it into bite-sized breadcrumbed pieces, and frying them off. Serve them up as a nibble for friends. Or stash them in the freezer, where they’ll make you a hero at dinnertime.
We’ve used Great British Food Award-winning Red Fox cheese in ours. It’s so so savoury and satisfying, with real bite. Dunked in a marinara sauce, they’re almost too moreish.
Ingredients (serves 4-6 people as a side or nibble)
- 250g macaroni pasta
- 2tbsps unsalted butter
- 2tbsps plain flour
- 600ml milk (ideally whole)
- 250g Red Fox cheese, grated
- Black pepper
- 1tsp mustard powder
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 300g fine breadcrumbs
- 1lt oil for frying
Method
1. Cook the pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
2. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Stir over a medium heat until it comes together into a paste. When it starts to smell biscuitty, take it off the heat briefly. Beat in a little of the milk so no lumps remain.
3. Return to a low heat and gradually add the rest of the milk, bit by bit, beating regularly, until you have a smooth sauce.
4. Add the mustard powder. Grind in black pepper to taste.
5. Take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Finally, add the cooked pasta. Allow to cool, then pop in the fridge to chill completely.
6. Once totally cold form into balls (around the size of a golf ball). Whisk the eggs in a shallow dish, and place the breadcrumbs in another. Dip the mac balls in the eggs, then the breadcrumbs, pressing them in well, and set aside.
7. Bring oil to temperature in a deep fat fryer or deep frying pan. Fry the mac and cheese balls until golden. Alternatively you can spray them with oil and cook at 200C in an airfryer for 8-10 minutes.
