Hakataramea Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Photo: ODT
Photo: ODT
Ask a Chef reveals the secrets of those superb dishes you ate in cafes and restaurants and wanted to try yourself.

Ingredients:

200g Whitestone Cheese blend (100g crumbled Windsor Blue + 100g grated Vintage Totara Tasty)

500g macaroni

500ml milk

100g plain flour

100g butter

Salt and black pepper, to taste

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

100g Whitestone Cheese Benmore Brie, sliced

Chopped parsley to garnish

Tomato chutney (we use our home-made Ada May chutney)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cook the macaroni according to the pack instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour to the saucepan and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth.

Add ½ of the Whitestone Cheese blend to the saucepan and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper to taste.

Add the cooked macaroni to a greased baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce into the baking dish and stir to coat the macaroni evenly with the sauce.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, remaining Whitestone Cheese blend, and sliced Benmore Brie evenly over the mac and cheese.

Bake the mac n cheese for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the mac and cheese cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with Ada May chutney and chopped parsley.

 - Recipe provided by Whitestone Cheese

 - Recipe requested by Carol Clarke

If you have enjoyed a dish at an Otago cafe or restaurant and would like the recipe, write to Ask a Chef, Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, Dunedin, or email odt.features@odt.co.nz, including your name, address and a daytime telephone number, and we will request it.