Alpfenmagronen with a Godminster twist
Ingredients
200g Mighty Middlewick Witch mature cheddar
500g Macaroni – although any tubular pasta will work
80g unsalted butter
80g plain flour
600ml whole milk
1 small cooking chorizo, 1/2cm cubed or a pack of sliced chorizo
3 small brown onions
Breadcrumbs
Apple Sauce
225g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped – approx. 1 large Bramley apple
½ lemon, zest only
2 tbsp water
15g butter
1 tsp caster sugar
Method
1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil for the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Begin making a simple roux by melting the butter on a low heat in a medium saucepan and slowly adding the flour, stirring continuously. Once you have a thin paste, begin adding roughly 1/3 of the milk until the sauce is similar to double cream consistency, and then continue to stir in the remaining milk, making sure to not let the sauce boil or stick to the pan.
3. Grate the cheddar and add to the sauce and stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Cook on a low heat until the flour has cooked through. This should take around 15 minutes but make sure by tasting periodically until the taste of flour has gone. Add ground black pepper to taste.
5. Drain the cooked pasta and pour it into an oven proof dish and cover with the cheese sauce evenly.
6. To make the breadcrumbs, for best results simply take 2 slices of stale bread and put them through the blender until you have large flakes similar to panko. Then scatter the breadcrumbs over the pasta and cheese sauce.
7. Place the dish or casserole under the grill until the breadcrumbs are crispy brown.
Chorizo and Onion
1. Peel the onion and thinly slice.
2. If using a whole chorizo, cut into small cubes, roughly 1/2cm or if using pre-sliced chorizo, cut into thin strips.
3. Place the sliced onion and chorizo into a cold frying pan and bring up to a medium heat. This will render fat from the chorizo, infusing the onions with paprika.
4. Brown the onions and chorizo for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Once the onions have begun to take on an orangey brown colour, add half a cup of water to the pan to cook the onions all the way through. This will also deglaze your frying pan. This should take roughly a further 8-10 minutes. Then put in a bowl and serve as a side with the mac and cheese.
The Apple Sauce – to be made before starting the main dish
1. Put the chopped apples in a saucepan with lemon zest and water and cook on a low heat until soft and mushy – extra water can be added as necessary
2. Take off the heat and beat in the sugar and butter.
3. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature with the macaroni dish.
