Day 284: no sauce-making required

I had a funny relationship with homemade macaroni cheese, growing up. My Nan was - is - a fantabulous cook, and is to be thanked for so many of my childhood food memories, but I wasn’t a fan of her macaroni cheese I must confess. I recall it being a little stodgy, claggy and (what I couldn’t bare above anything) embellished with thin slices of fresh tomatoes before baking, which shrivelled up and seeped juices into the surrounding areas during baking and ruined the entire experience (not that I dislike tomatoes; just didn’t like them on cheesy bakes). Of course, I am hopeful she doesn’t read this: she may be 84 but she has a laptop!

I much preferred the tinned version she used to buy in for my visits (heated and poured onto buttered white bread, extra cheese on top). Perhaps deep down she knew.

It wasn’t until cooking a few recipes in this cookalong that I realised homemade versions could indeed be lush - and this minimal-effort, no-making-of-a-sauce-required version from Express is really just wonderful. I must confess to over-baking slightly: probably because my baking dish was too wide and therefore the layer of cheesy, creamy macaroni goodness too thin.

Nigella’s Macaroni Cheese

The absence of flour and the presence of evaporated milk makes this version all luscious cream, cheese and pasta, without the need to spend time adequately cooking-out any flouriness. Truly ‘maximal pleasure for minimal effort’. Served with a sharply-mustard-dressed salad on the side.

The recipe for this is in Express and on nigella.com (link below)