CHORIZO MAC AND CHEESE

Mac and cheese is my all time favourite dish - I could eat it every week (or every day)….although that probably wouldn't be the smartest decision health wise considering the amount of cheese I put in. However I do like to cook it every so often as a treat.

My favourite recipe is this mac and cheese with lardons, leeks and spinach although my daughter Arabella and I are quite a fan of the Kraft boxed mac and cheese although I don't think it contains much goodness :-) This is a new recipe I saw on Lorraine's morning TV show - it is a completely different way to cook the dish and took about 50 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people (big, healthy portions):

350g dried macaroni pasta
4 uncured chorizo sausage (or a flavour of your choice)
1 red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 x 410g tin evaporated milk
80ml tomato ketchup
1 tsp English mustard
300g Cheddar cheese
1/2 a big pack of cheesy tortilla chips
Couple of drops of hot sauce (we didn't use)

Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4.

Boil the macaroni in salted boiling water according to the packet's instructions - mine took 7 minutes and I cooked them al dente. Drain and then set aside.

Chop the onion, crush the garlic and remove the chorizo from its casing and then cut into bite size pieces. Fry in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic and cook for a further five minutes until softened.

Add the evaporated milk, ketchup, mustard, 2/3 of the grated cheese and then stir until melted. 

Season and add the hot sauce if desired.

Stir in the pasta.

Pour into a baking dish.

Blitz up the tortilla chips until they resemble breadcrumbs - I scrunched them in the bag but you could use a food processor. Sprinkle over the pasta and then cover with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I have to admit I was pretty dubious about cooking mac and cheese with ketchup and evaporated milk but it actually really worked and the tortilla chips and cheese topping was amaze balls!! It was a little sweet - I think to enhance the flavour I would serve with a green salad next time. Arabella prefers this version to my one with leeks and spinach….although that is not surprising for a kid….my husband Pascal shocked me by loving this too even though he hates ketchup and milk. We will definitely be cooking this again - it was quick and simple and cheap as well.