My Macaroni Cheese

Every time I hear macaroni cheese in the back of my head I hear ‘Mac n cheese’, it always seems very American! It’s something I’d never tried and thought it to be one of those tins that you give to kids like baked beans.
I eventually tried it when it was served as an accompaniment with braised beef cheek at Armathwaite Hall; if you haven’t been, try it. It’s a beautiful hotel in The Lake District, the food and spa are amazing. I digress, so macaroni cheese as a side was delicious. From then on I swore I’d try to make it, I checked loads of recipes and none really seemed to sound right to emulate what I’d had at Armathwaite. I mixed and matched a few recipes and decide did make it different to what I had and added some diced bacon. It was lovely. The only change I’d make is to serve it with a nice crispy salad dressed with a chilli sauce or jam.

Ingredients:
700ml full-fat milk
1onion peeled and halved
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf
350g macaroni
150 diced bacon
50g butter, plus a little extra for greasing
50g plain flour
175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon English mustard
50g Parmesan grated
50g coarse white breadcrumbs

Method:
Heat the oven to 190 c and butter an ovenproof dish.  Fry the bacon in a little oil and set aside.
Put the milk, onion, garlic and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile cook the macaroni until al dente. Strain the milk
Make a roux with the flour and butter.
Stir the infused milk into the roux slowly until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheese and mustard. Season with salt and pepper and keep stirring until the cheese has melted.
Add the macaroni and the bacon to the cheese sauce and stir well then tip it in the dish, sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs then grate the Parmesan over the top. Bake for around 15 minutes.