The Don Macaroni
The Don Macaroni! Monterey Jack, fresh basil pesto and dry cured streaky bacon are the stars of this awesome macaroni cheese recipe by Anna Mae's Mac N Cheese.
Introduction
This is the most popular dish we sell out of the truck – people go crazy for bacon. Here we’re using the fat from the pan to create even bigger bacon flavour.
Ingredients
| 400g | macaroni |
| 1 x portion | Starter Sauce (see link in method below) |
| 230g | mature Cheddar, grated |
| 90g | Monterey Jack, grated |
| 30g | Parmesan, grated |
| 8 | rashers of dry-cured streaky bacon |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| 75ml | good-quality olive oil |
| 25g | grated Parmesan |
| 25g | pine nuts |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| 10 | fresh basil leaves, plus extra to garnish |
| A squeeze | of lemon |
Essential kit
You will need a hand blender or a pestle and mortar.
Method
For recipe and instructions for the Starter Sauce, click here.
First make the pesto. Pop the ingredients into a small bowl and blitz with a hand blender, or bash in a pestle and mortar until lovely and smooth. Set aside.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, until al dente. Tip into a colander and leave to drain completely.
In a heavy-bottomed pan make the Starter Sauce (recipe here), then reduce the heat to low. Stir in all the cheese and leave to melt, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture sticking to the pan. Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly.
Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crisp, pouring any fat that collects in the pan into the cheese sauce, mixing well.
Spoon the mac ‘n’ cheese into 4 serving bowls, drizzle the pesto over the top and place two of the bacon rashers across each dish. Garnish with the basil and season with freshly ground pepper.
