Mary Berry’s Freezer Mac and Cheese
Mary Berry's recipe for macaroni cheese is designed with packing your freezer in mind. With a delicious creamy cheese sauce and the perfect portion size for your freezer, it's always worth cooking several batches to keep for a rainy day.
Introduction
My husband and I love macaroni and cheese for supper, so I often make batches and freeze them in two portion dishes. I rarely cook things straight from frozen, but this is one dish that works brilliantly. Be sure to make the sauce to this exact recipe; it seems runny but, when it is cooked from frozen, it works perfectly. If this has been made in a very deep dish, you might find that the centre is still a bit cold after the cooking time but the top is golden brown. In this case, cover the dish in foil and return it to the oven for another 5–10 minutes, until piping hot all the way through.
Ingredients
| 150g (5oz) | macaroni pasta |
| For the cheese sauce: | |
|---|---|
| 55g (2oz) | butter |
| 55g (2oz) | plain flour |
| 900ml (1½ pints) | hot milk |
| 1 tbsp | Dijon mustard |
| 55g (2oz) | Parmesan, coarsely grated |
| 100g (3½oz) | mature Cheddar, coarsely grated |
| For the topping: | |
| 100g (3½oz) | mature Cheddar, coarsely grated |
Essential kit
You will need a 1.5–1.75 litre (2½–3 pint) shallow ovenproof dish.
Method
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, until just al dente. Drain and run under cold water. Drain again.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir over the heat for a few seconds. Lower the heat and slowly whisk in the hot milk until smooth. Bring up to the boil, continually whisking, until you have a thin coating consistency. (Don’t expect it to be thick.)
Add the mustard, cheeses and lots of salt and ground black pepper. Stir in the drained pasta.
Pour the macaroni cheese into the ovenproof dish and scatter over the grated Cheddar topping.
At this point you can freeze the dish. Set it aside to cool, then cover with clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months. I find it best to cook this from frozen, rather than defrosting it first. If you defrost before cooking, the pasta absorbs too much of the sauce and it becomes stodgy and soft.
To cook from frozen, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/ Gas 6. Remove the clingfilm and bake in the preheated oven for about 45–50 minutes. Serve straight from the oven.
Mary’s Tips: Can be made completely ahead and cooked to serve. Freezes well for up to 3 months.
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