Macaroni Cheese & Tomato Bake is a recipe that I love. I had not made it in a very long while, mostly because it made so much. This week I decided to downsize it to half the amount so that I could enjoy it reasonably.
My daughter Eileen and her husband make this very often. Its a recipe from my cookbook, The English Kitchen, an Anglophile's love note to English Cuisine. They just love it and I am not surprised as it is delicious!
Its also very easy to make. What you have here is a base of pasta in a deliciously simple tomato sauce. A rich and cheesy bechamel sauce gets slathered on top and then you crush some cracker crumbs over top of that.
The whole thing then gets baked in a hot oven for half an hour to perfection. Everything is bubbling and golden brown. It truly is delicious and such a simple make.
It is a meatless main dish that is so tasty you won't miss the meat and in this day and age when groceries are becoming more and more expensive, something economical such as this dish is really welcome.
There is no need to add any meat. It is beautiful all on its own. Rich and creamy and very flavorful. Prepare yourself to fall in love!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MACARONI CHEESE & TOMATO BAKE FOR TWO
Simple store cupboard ingredients that you probably have in your larder already!
- 1 cup (4 ounces/115g) dried macaroni
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1 14-ounce tin (400g) chopped tomatoes, drained
- 2 tsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 1 TBS dried basil leaves
- 2 1/2 TBS of butter
- 2 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 cup (240ml) of whole milk, warmed
- 1 cup (120g) of strong cheddar cheese, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- a handful of cracker crumbs
You can use any kind of dried pasta or macaroni in this that you wish, but I do recommend using a pasta that will really hug that tomato sauce. Tubes are preferable. Today I used a type of twisted tube pasta called Casarecce.
This kind of pasta is the right shape for hugging that sauce. It comes from Sicily. What you have here are a pasta that is shaped like longish scrolls. Rolled up edges with a groove down the center. About 2 inches in length.
You also want to use a really good brand of canned tomatoes for this. Here in Canada I like Mutti. They are real Italian tomatoes. They might cost a tiny bit more than other tomatoes, but they are worth every extra penny as far as taste goes.
They are really tasty with a beautiful bright red color. Today I used the Polpa tomatoes, which means finely chopped tomatoes. They are in a lovely rich tomato juice.
You will want to use a nice sharp/strong well flavored cheddar for in the sauce. I used a British white cheddar that I bought at the farm market next door. Cathedral City. It is a cheese I used to buy in the UK.
It has a lovely strong flavor, either eaten out of hand or for use in cooking like this. You want a cheese that is going to impart a nice rich cheesiness to the sauce.
It just makes sense that in a dish where the major components are tomatoes, cheese and pasta that you would want to use the best that your money can buy. Their flavors really count.
HOW TO MAKE MACARONI CHEESE & TOMATO BAKE FOR TWO
There are two components to the dish, the tomato sauce and the bechamel. It might seem fiddly, but trust me when I say it really isn't. You can make this up ahead of time, cover it and pop it into the fridge, ready to take out and bake when you want to serve it. Just leave it at room temperature for half an hour prior to popping it into the oven.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently until softened over medium low heat. Don't let it brown. Add the drained tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cook together for a few minutes. Stir in the basil and break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Set aside.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and mustard powder. Cook, whisking for at least one minute, and then slowly whisk in the warm milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil, making sure it doesn't catch on the bottom. Whisk in cheese, stirring until it melts. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Cook the macaroni until al dente according to the package directions. Drain well. Stir the cooked macaroni into the tomato mixture. Pour into a large baking dish and smooth over.
Spread the cheese sauce evenly over top. Sprinkle on a handful of cracker crumbs. (I find the easiest way to spread the cheese sauce over top is to dollop it on in a number of places and then to join the dollops.)
Bake in the heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
This truly is delicious. The simple things in life are usually some of the best things of all, both in lifestyle and in eating.
All you really need on the side is some crusty bread to mop up all of those gorgeous sauces and a leafy salad. You will not miss having meat in this. Believe me. This is incredibly rich and tasty all on its own!
Some other economical meatless pasta dishes that you might also enjoy are:
CRUSHED MACARONI & VEGETABLES - Broken pasta is layered in a dish along with some tomatoes, cooked spinach and cheese. A mix of water, good olive oil and garlic gets poured over top. Tightly covered it is baked long and slow until all the flavors blend beautifully and the macaroni gets almost creamy. I do like to add a splash of good Balsamic for another layer of flavor.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND GOATS' CHEESE LASAGNA - This is one of my favorite lasagna's to make and to eat. The flavors are amazing. Rich bechamel. Tasty sweet butternut squash. Chopped toasted walnuts. Rich and tangy goat's cheese. Deliciously company worthy to say the least.
Yield: 2
Author: Marie Rayner
Macaroni Cheese and Tomato Bake
I downsized one of my favorite versions of mac and cheese to serve just two people. I will leave the link to the full sized version below. Its delicious whether you are feeding two or feeding four.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (4 ounces/115g) dried macaroni
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1 14-ounce tin (400g) chopped tomatoes, drained
- 2 tsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 1 TBS dried basil leaves
- 2 1/2 TBS of butter
- 2 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 cup (240ml) of whole milk, warmed
- 1 cup (120g) of strong cheddar cheese, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- a handful of cracker crumbs
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently until softened over medium low heat. Don't let it brown. Add the drained tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cook together for a few minutes. Stir in the basil and break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Set aside.
- To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and mustard powder. Cook, whisking for at least one minute, and then slowly whisk in the warm milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil, making sure it doesn't catch on the bottom. Whisk in cheese, stirring until it melts. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Cook the macaroni until al dente according to the package directions. Drain well. Stir the cooked macaroni into the tomato mixture. Pour into a large baking dish and smooth over. Spread the cheese sauce evenly over top. Sprinkle on a handful of cracker crumbs.
- Bake in the heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
If you would like the full sized recipe which feeds four people, click here.
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