Caribbean-style Baked Mac & Cheese Recipe
Bake this cheesy dish for your Dad for Father’s Day, he’ll definitely be going back for seconds. Infused with fresh local herbs like pimentos and chives plus an array of fragrant aromatic spices, this mac and cheese is bursting with flavour. Use Nestlé Carnation Evaporated Milk to achieve the best cheese sauce that’s perfectly thick and incredibly comforting. Get an amazing golden crust, seasoned with Maggi Season-up! All-Purpose Powdered Seasoning.
Ingredients
- 300 grams elbow macaroni, cooked
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 oz butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 500 ml Nestlé Carnation Evaporated Milk
- 1 cup provolone cheese, shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cloves
- 1 nutmeg (grated)
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatoes (deseeded)
- 3 pimento peppers (red)
- 2 stalks chives
- 1 sprig fresh parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 eggs (whisked)
Breadcrumbs
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- 1 tbsp Maggi Season-up! All-Purpose Powdered Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a large casserole dish and set aside.
- Finely dice your onion garlic, tomatoes, pimento peppers, chives and parsley.
- Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente according to the package instructions. Remove from heat, drain, rinse with cold water and place in a large bowl.
- Prepare your cheese sauce: In a medium or large saucepan on low heat, add 6 tbsp of butter and allow to melt for 1 minute.
- Once, butter is melted, slowly whisk in flour over medium heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute until bubbly and golden.
- Gradually whisk in the Nestlé Carnation Evaporated Milk until nice and smooth. Gently whisk until you see bubbles on the surface.
- Add in your onion, garlic and pimento peppers to the sauce.
- Add your bay leaf, cloves, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Allow simmering, stirring occasionally for another 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded mozzarella cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Add the shredded provolone cheese and continue whisking until creamy and smooth.
- Take out the bay leaf and cloves from the sauce.
- Remove the pan off the stovetop and pour 1/2 the cheese mixture into the cooked pasta.
- Stir in the cooled pasta until combined and pasta is fully coated with the cheese sauce.
- Pour in the remaining half sauce into the pasta and stir gently until pasta is fully coated with the cheese sauce.
- Add in your eggs and incorporate with the pasta.
- Mix in the parmesan cheese and tomatoes.
- Pour the mac and cheese into the prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese and then the remaining mac and cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, Maggi Season-up! All-Purpose Powdered Seasoning and smoked paprika. Sprinkle over the top. Place a few extra knobs (about 1/4 tsp) of butter throughout the pie.
- Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes and serve.
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