Express Macaroni Cheese
Asked by midwichcuckoo. Answered on 17th February 2015
Full question
I have made Nigella's Macaroni Cheese from Express on several occasions but I'm certain I must be doing something wrong. After the suggested cooking time the outside edges have set and become quiche like and the centre of the dish is not set at all. I presume from the description the sauce is supposed to remain creamy. On my last attempt I gave the whole dish a stir after cooking hoping to get a more uniform texture but I just ended up with something resembling scrambled egg. I love the quickness of this and I am desperate for this to work. Please help!
Hi Nigella team! My question refers to the nutmeg in the Macaroni Cheese. I bought ground nutmeg and was wondering how much of it do I put into the cheese and egg mixture? Thank you!
Our answer
Nigella's Macaroni Cheese (from Nigella Express and on the Nigella website) does not have a classic roux-based cheese sauce but instead has a sauce made from eggs, evaporated milk and grated cheese. This sauce is blitzed in a food processor and is very quick to make. It is also in some ways very similar to a carbonara sauce. The short cooking time in a high oven is really just to heat the dish through and to brown and crisp the top.
The sauce should not really set and if it is setting as described then the oven may be too hot and you may need to lower the temperature slightly, particularly if it is a fan or convection oven. Also if you have a dish that is made from a thin metal then this will heat up quickly and may cause the edges to cook a little too much. A cast iron or pyrex dish is ideal. If you are still having problems then you could instead add the sauce to the pasta and warm it through in the saucepan, over a low heat and stirring constantly. While you are doing this preheat your grill (broiler) to high. Transfer the warmed pasta and sauce to a heatproof dish (preferably wide and shallow) and then grill (broil) for a few minutes until the top is golden. Remember though to watch the dish while it is under the grill as the edges can catch and burn easily.
If using ground nutmeg then we suggest using 1 to 2 pinches. Once the sauce and pasta have been mixed together taste and add a little extra nutmeg if you like.
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What 1 Other has said
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Posted by Jajaelmac on 24th October 2021
Show more commentsI don’t like the taste of evaporated milk so I use half mayonnaise and half skimmed milk. I also add two spoons of pasta water. To prevent “scrambled egg” I run the cold tap over the macaroni in the colander. The result is very tasty and creamy.