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The Don Macaroni

by Anna Clark & Tony Solomon from Anna Mae’s Mac n Cheese

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.

From the book

Anna Clark & Tony Solomon

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.

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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.

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