Three Cheese Mac and Cheese

One cheese cannot do everything. Mature cheddar brings the flavour, gruyere brings the stretch, and a little parmesan brings salt and savour. Grate them yourself, because the anti caking powder on pre grated cheese makes a grainy sauce.

1. 1

   Boil the macaroni for two minutes less than the packet says. It will finish in the oven.

   For this step

   • 3 cups (350 g) macaroni
2. 2

   Melt three quarters of the butter, stir in the flour and cook the paste for 2 minutes until it smells biscuity rather than raw.

   For this step

   • 4 tbsp (57 g) butter
   • ¼ cup (32 g) plain flour
3. 3

   Add the warm milk a ladle at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next. Simmer for 5 minutes until it coats a spoon.

   For this step

   • 3 cups (720 g) whole milk
4. 4

   Take the pan off the heat and only then stir in the cheddar, gruyere, mustard powder and nutmeg. Off the heat, the cheese melts instead of splitting.

   For this step

   • 2 cups (200 g) mature cheddar
   • 1 cup (100 g) gruyere
   • 1 tsp English mustard powder
   • ¼ tsp nutmeg
5. 5

   Fold the pasta through the sauce and tip it into a baking dish. Mix the panko with the parmesan and the last of the butter, melted, and scatter it over.

   For this step

   • 4 tbsp (57 g) butter
   • ½ cup (40 g) parmesan
   • 1 cup (60 g) panko breadcrumbs
6. 6

   Bake at 200C fan for 18 minutes until the top is bronzed and the edges are bubbling.

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