I think, as time goes on, I’ve becoming more of a homebody. I love having people over, or visitings a friend’s place, for dinner and drinks, and spending time having great conversation around a home-cooked meal (or homemade cocktails) has become more appealing than it ever was before. It’s also a good excuse to have something you wouldn’t necessarily make on a regular basis, like, say … a big bowl of gooey mac and cheese loaded with chorizo.

Serve mac and cheese with garlicky greens to make it… slightly… less decadent.

When making mac & cheese with friends, the number one rule is to use as many utensils for mixing as there are people, so everyone can lick the spoon – and the host gets first dibs on the pan.

Thanks to fellow food blogger Amanda at My Jersey Kitchen for suggesting I write up this recipe!

A crunchy cheese topping is a must.

On the Counter

75 g/3 oz Spanish spicy chorizo, diced
1 tsp olive oil
100 g smoked Gouda
100 g mature cheddar
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green chili, diced [optional]
350 g/3/4
lb shell pasta (conchiglietti)
115 mL / 1/2 cup room temperature milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
dash of salt
a few grinds of white (or black) pepper

Equipment

whisk
bowl for mixing topping
spoon for stirring
spoon for tasting
saucepan big enough to cook pasta
buttered casserole dish, around 26 cm (10 in) long

What to Do

In the olive oil, sauté the onions until they’re just softening, then add the garlic, green chili and chorizo. You shouldn’t need any more oil, as the chorizo will give off plenty. Fry until the chorizo starts to darken, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in heavily salted water, for about 3 minutes less than the package requests. Just before or at al dente is ideal. Once it’s cooked, rinse it with water and set aside. Give the pot a quick rinse.

Set the chorizo aside, and start your cheese sauce.

Heat the butter in your pasta pot until it’s melted and bubbly, add flour bit by bit and whisk together until you get doughy strings. It should take less than a minute.

Off the heat, slowly add in the room temperature milk. Put it back on very low heat (nearly as low as you can get it) and keep whisking until the bechamel (white sauce) thickens. You will notice a difference in the texture, and it should take about 3 or 4 minutes of whisking.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F.

At that point, slowly pour the cheese into the white sauce, and keep stirring until all the cheese is melted. At this point, if you need a little more milk, adding it should not be a problem.

Add in the paprika, the garlic/chorizo/onion/chili, and some salt and pepper. Stir to combine, and then add the pasta in, mixing thoroughly to coat.

Spoon the cheesy macaroni into a buttered casserole dish, and smooth it flat. Top with cheesy panko topping. (below)

Bake for 25 minutes. Then, move to the broil/grill for 5 minutes to toast the topping.

Cheesy Panko Topping

1/2 cup (30 g) Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (50 g) grated cheddar and Gouda

Stir to combine.

PS: Check out My Kitchen Counter on instagram, where you can get a preview of things that will show up on the blog, plus a few other things that don’t quite make the recipe list.

It has been hot, hot, hot here in London this weekend. Being from the northeast US, I’m thrilled with these hot, sunny days and hope we get a few months of it. It’s still less humid than back home, so I really can’t complain. Plus, there are loads of summer vegetables to eat, and finding ways to prepare them is a fun challenge.

Yesterday the gentleman and I spent the day in Whitstable, a really nice seaside town. One of my favorite things about it (besides the peaceful beaches and the delicious local oysters and lobster we had for dinner) was how focused the town seemed on “staying local”. The high street was full of locally owned shops and restaurants selling local products. Sometimes it can seem like a losing battle when most high streets are full of chain restaurants and Wetherspoon pubs. Whitstable was a very pleasant surprise.

One of our Whitstable oysters came with its own oyster-handle.

Speaking of local, pretty much all the vegetables from this recipe came from our Riverford box – the only thing that didn’t was the garlic and the canned tomatoes. I’ve gotten a bit more adventurous thanks to these boxes. You might not consider an eggplant (aubergine) particularly remarkable, but I’m not a big fan, so being forced to cook them sometimes has challenged my creativity and even changed my mind about a few vegetables.

Recipe note: Some people are vehemently against adding sugar to their tomato sauces. And while I fully admit it’s a short-cut, it’s one I’m happy to take – especially when I want tomato sauce NOW and not in 3 hours. Simplicity works well for the lasagne, as the veggies do a lot of heavy lifting and you don’t want the sauce to overpower all those fresh veg.

On the Counter

Sauce:
2 cans whole plum tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine (chianti)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper (chili) flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp demerara sugar (1.5 tsp if using white granulated)
salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Lasagne:
6-8 no-boil lasagne sheets
1/2 cup mild white cheddar, shredded/grated
2 medium zucchinis (courgettes), sliced and quartered
1 eggplant (aubergine), sliced
10 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
salt to taste
fresh basil, shredded

What to Do

Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add chopped onions, cook until nearly translucent. (If your onions are browning too quickly, add just a tiny bit of water to regulate the temperature of the pan and stir with a wooden spoon.)

When the onions are just about there, add chopped garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes, until garlic is soft but not brown. Meanwhile, chop or squish the tomatoes in their cans. 

Deglaze the pan with red wine, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add tomatoes, breaking up any bigger pieces. 

Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in sugar, oregano, basil and chili flakes. Taste and add salt (or a bit more sugar) as needed. 

Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. 

The Rest: 

While the sauce is simmering, sprinkle salt on all sliced vegetables. If you’re using lasagne sheets that need to be pre-boiled, start them now. Cook them for about 2 minutes less than the package says, as they’ll soak up some liquid during baking. 

Lay down a single layer of 3-4 sheets at the bottom of a wide baking dish. Spoon on a thin coating of sauce.

Add a layer of vegetables, no more than 2 deep. Add another layer of lasagne sheets. Continue until the dish is full, ending with a layer of vegetables.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. 

Bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes until bubbly with golden cheese. 

I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy the summer while it lasts!

Autumn is probably my favorite food season. While summer is my favorite season overall, and the vegetables and fruits available in the summer make for some amazing meals, I look forward to the beginning of the comfort food season… and the pumpkin.

It’s tough to find canned pumpkin here in London, though not impossible. (Pro-tip: Waitrose and Whole Foods. Waitrose is much cheaper.) I love including it in all sorts of dishes, including the traditional (pumpkin pie), and the quirky (spiced pumpkin oatmeal). You could definitely use fresh pumpkin purée but that’s a time investment I’m not always willing to make.

And then there’s the cheese! Invest in a nice cheese, cuz it will make your macaroni that much tastier. I don’t use the most expensive cheddar on the block but I try to find the one on the best sale that I know tastes delish.

I first tried this recipe a few years ago, and have since honed my mac & cheese technique from when I used to end up with grainy and too-runny sauce. (Thankfully I’m over that now, and hopefully my instructions can help with your cheese sauces too.)

Every year I look forward to making this! It’s so seasonal and warming, and it reminds me of multicolored trees, warm wooly blankets and hikes on crunchy leaf-covered paths.

The pumpkin removes a tiny bit of the guilt of eating a big heaping portion of mac & cheese, but don’t worry, it’s not going to start tasting like a big sweet hunk of pie. There’s also panko on top to add a crunch that just makes me happy. Check out that crumbly topping!

I’ll post my regular mac & cheese recipe soon, but you can get away with making this without the pumpkin, if you’re really not keen.

Serves: 4

On The Counter:

For the Cheese Sauce
1/2 lb (250g) whole wheat tube/twist pasta (I used rigatoni)
1.5 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp flour
2 cups milk, divided into 1 cup and 2 1/2 cups.
3/4 cup grated mature cheddar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp nutmeg

For the Topping
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated mature cheddar

What To Do:

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta to al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F (200C).

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan on low heat, melt butter. Once the butter is nearly all liquid, sprinkle the flour on and whisk together until there are no lumps. Cook for another 30 seconds.

Add 1 cup of milk and whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 cup and continue to whisk. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens up.

Add the grated cheese slowly, whisking as you add it in. Keep stirring until the cheese melts. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, the pumpkin and finally the last 1/2 cup of milk. Keep stirring until everything is smooth.

Remove from heat and mix in pasta. Pour the whole mix until a casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the panko, saved cheese, cayenne and salt. mix together til well combined.

Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of the macaroni.

Put casserole dish into the oven for 20 minutes. It should be warm and bubbly, with a golden crumb topping.

Macaroni & cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods, which also means that I judge it quite harshly in restaurants. Just last week I had a mac & cheese that was more leeks than macaroni… and the cheese tasted like nothing more than hot goo. Don’t let bad restaurant mac happen to you, too!