comfort food - pasta bake

Last night my flat mate told me she was sick. Amidst some pretty awful coughs and splutters, she disclosed that her mum always used to make her macaroni cheese when she was sick as a child.
She went off to bed, and I decided to cook her a treat.

Nothing flash, nothing bling, just a delicous and warming macaroni cheese. don't be scared to use as much cheese as you like, and remember to use a strong cheese, as cheese loses power in sauces.

serves 3/4

400g dried penne pasta
1 head of broccoli -trimmed to florets
4 rashers of good quality smoked back bacon (not american stlye belly bacon) - 1/2inch squares
2 small onions or 8 shallots - fine diced
4 large cloves of garlic - crushed, smushed and chopped up small
lots of boiling water
salt and pepper
a splash of olive oil

for the sauce:
700 ml whole milk
350g good quality mature cheddar cheese (white) (grated)
60g butter
40g plain flour
3 bay leaves
3 blades of mace
10 mixed peppercorns
10 fennel seeds
LOTS of coarsely cracked blackpepper
a hint of white pepper

crusty white bread and mixed salad leaves to serve
a dry white wine


a whisk, a large pyrex or earthenware tray (greased), a steamer (optional), a few pans, a wooden spoon, knives, muslin or j-cloth, a colander, a friend to do the washing up.


method:
1. Kettle boil enough water to generously cover a pan full of dry pasta. Pour on, add a good amount of saltv and place on a high heat to boil.
2.Place the broccoli, if possible in a tier of a metal steamer and slot above the pasta. cover. this way saves water and electricity. If you do not have a teared steamer then boil in lightly salted water.
3. cook until the pasta is 2 minutes from al dente (very firm but not hard). cook the broccoli until firm and slightly crunchy. drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 210 celsius.
4. wrap the peppercorns, mace and fennel seeds in muslin and tie securely, leaving plenty of space inside the 'bag'.
5. Pour all of the milk into a pan , with the muslin 'bag' and bay leaves and bring to the boil.
6. go and have a glass of wine or wash some dishes. Be careful the milk doesn't boil over :D.
7. After a few minutes on a low boil, take it down to the lowest setting and leave it. the longer you leave it, the more the aromatics from the herbs and spices will influence the flavour, giving you a more complex sauce.
8. In your nicest, heaviest saucepan bring 40g of the butter to a gentle sizzle over a medium heat. add all of the flour and stir hard with a wooden spoon until the mixture (roux) comes away from the sides of the pan, stir moderately and allow to sizzle gently for 2 minutes. While the roux is cooking, remove the muslin and bay from the milk and pour into a jug.
9. Add the milk to the roux in small batches, stirring or whisking continously and vigourously, maintaining a hot but not boiling heat. When each batch of milk is fully incorporated and the mix is smooth, add the next batch. Do this until all of the milk is incorporated.
10. Still on a moderate heat, gently stir in 250g of your grated cheese until it melts. adding the remaining butter at this point will give your sauce a beautiful shine. Season with lots of blac pepper, a little white pepper. do not add salt. leave on a back ring either off or on a very low heat, stirring occasionaly
11. add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan (sautee pan I think in american english), and then fry (saute) the onions or shallots with a sprinkle of black pepper on high heat for 4 minutes. Add the diced bacon and sautee for a further 2 minutes. add the garlic for a final 30 seconds and remover from the heat.
12. Pour the bacon mix, including fat, into the sauce and stir, then add the broccoli and pasta. stir well. No additional salt should be necessary, as the bacon is usually salty enough to season the whole dish.
13. Pour the whole mix into your pyrex or earthenwear dish and sprinkle on the top half of the remaining cheese. bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Go and pour yourself another glass of wine.
14. take out of the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. place under a grill (salamnder) until nice and brown. I think Americans call this 'broiling' but i'm not sure.
15. serve with crisp bitter leaves, dressed lightly, and crusty white bread, preferably warm.

Enjoy with a chilled glass of dry white wine.


Bon appetit