Truffle mac and cheese

The American comfort food classic is given a new lease on life with the luxurious addition of truffles.

Credit: Born to Cook: Jack Stein Down Under

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 45 g butter
• 3 heaped tbsp plain flour
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 bay leaves, dried
• 1 litre milk
• 600 g dried macaroni
• 150 g Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
• 100 g Parmesan cheese , freshly grated
• a few sprigs fresh thyme , leaves picked
• 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Vegemite
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Handful of Panko breadcrumbs
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• shaved truffle

 

Instructions

Pour the milk into a saucepan over a low-medium heat, and drop in the thyme, bay leaves and roughly chopped garlic. In a pot of boiled water, cook the macaroni for six minutes, or until al dente.

To make a blond roux, melt butter in a pan and then add the flour, mixing together over a low heat. Once the flour is cooked out, slowly add the hot milk, which has been infused with the herbs. Continue whisking out the lumps. Add Dijon, parmesan and cheddar, stirring until melted through. Add in the dark soy, Worcestershire sauce and Vegemite. Fold through the cooked and drained macaroni and pour into an ovenproof dish. 

Melt some butter in a pan and fold through the breadcrumbs. Layer over the top of the macaroni and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are browned. Shave the fresh truffle over the top and serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.