Mac ‘n’ cheese – almost every household’s favourite recipe, a must have when it comes to comfort eating and somewhat my to-go recipe when facing a “mental-block”. Even having a pantry full of food and spices as well as obscene amount of cookery books, I sometimes couldn’t shake off the feeling of “don’t know what to cook” and can somehow hear my nearest fast food joint, which was 5 minutes away, calling out my name. (Mind you it’s 5 minutes walking time!). While many people wouldn’t find this to be a plus point, to me, living 5 minutes away from fast food haven is heavenly. 🙂 Having said that, it is a constant battle for me not to step on the “slipery slope” of habitual fast food eating.
Obviously, I could slip and slide every now and then. Plus the perfect excuse of homemade fast food is better than what you buy outside is my free pass to indulge in a sinful and cheesy thrill of carb-laden meal such as this one.
Mac “N” Cheese with Smoked Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes
(adapted generously from Nigella Express)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 200g (7 oz) macaroni
- 250g (9 oz) shredded cheese (I’ve used a mix of cheddar & mozzarella)
- 250ml (8 fluid oz) evaporated milk
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of ground nutmeg (or grating of a fresh one)
- salt and pepper
- 100g (4 oz) smoked chicken – about 1 small chicken breast worth
- 50g (2 oz) sundried tomatoes
Note: The original recipe doesn’t have smoked chicken and sundried tomatoes. If you decide to omit these ingredients, increase the macaroni from 200g (7 oz) to 250g (8 oz).
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C /428 degree F.
- Cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions, drain and put back into the hot pan.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare diced sundried tomatoes and smoked chicken. Set aside.
- Put cheese, evaporated milk, eggs and nutmeg in a processor and blitz to mix. Alternatively, grate the cheese and mix everything by hand.
{evaporated milk}
- Mix cheese sauce over the macaroni, smoked chicken and sundried tomatoes. Stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Tip into a 25.5 cm (10 inches) diameter dish (wide and shallow is recommended by Nigella). Alternatively, you can fill it in a couple of ramekin or 20cm (8inched) cake pan lined with good parchment paper.
- Bake in the preheated overn for about 10 – 15 minutes or until it is bubbling and blistering on top.
Mac “N” Cheese with Smoked Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes
(adapted generously from Nigella Express)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 200g (7 oz) macaroni
- 250g (9 oz) shredded cheese (I’ve used a mix of cheddar & mozzarella)
- 250ml (8 fluid oz) evaporated milk
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of ground nutmeg (or grating of a fresh one)
- salt and pepper
- 100g (4 oz) smoked chicken – about 1 small chicken breast worth
- 50g (2 oz) sundried tomatoes
Note: The original recipe doesn’t have smoked chicken and sundried tomatoes. If you decide to omit these ingredients, increase the macaroni from 200g (7 oz) to 250g (8 oz).
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C /428 degree F.
- Cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions, drain and put back into the hot pan.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare diced sundried tomatoes and smoked chicken. Set aside.
- Put cheese, evaporated milk, eggs and nutmeg in a processor and blitz to mix. Alternatively, grate the cheese and mix everything by hand.
- Mix cheese sauce over the macaroni, smoked chicken and sundried tomatoes. Stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Tip into a 25.5 cm (10 inches) diameter dish (wide and shallow is recommended by Nigella). Alternatively, you can fill it in a couple of ramekin or 20cm (8inched) cake pan lined with good parchment paper.
- Bake in the preheated overn for about 10 – 15 minutes or until it is bubbling and blistering on top.
Love the bakeware! And how the mac’n’cheese looks good in it. I have tried Mac’n Cheese only twice in my 11 years in the US! I will have to give it a try this way… Have a great week!
You have a lot of self-control, I see, hehe! Thanks for your comment and have a great week yourself. 🙂
Wow, this looks fabulously gooey and delicious. I love sundried tomatoes so I bet they are fantastic in this dish!
The sundried tomatoes add a bit of tang to the mac ‘n’ cheese, great to balance the richness of the dish. I personally love that combo. 🙂
This sounds DELICIOUS! I have a HUGE crush on sundried tomatoes, slow roasted tomatoes and really…just tomatoes in general. I will be trying this soon!
Was it creamy? Traditional homemade mac n cheese calls for cooking the cheese with flour to make a sauce and then baking it in the oven. I can never get creamy. Instead I get grainy…
It wasn’t creamy but more like a “bread pudding” texture.
Grainy? Perhaps to much flour? Personally, if I go for a creamy texture, I love to add an egg whisk quickly (to avoid scramble egg) into the white sauce. 🙂
This looks insanely mouth-watering! Crazy about the idea of using evaporated milk. Such a creamy and delicious ingredient. I’m definitely going to try it in my next baked pasta. Thanks!
Hope you’ll enjoy it Tiana! 🙂
Oooh this looks so good. I just recently broke my BF’s velveeta only rule. Perhaps I can sneak this one in as well.
Hehe, why not? 😉
How much Smoked Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes do you add?
Hi Heather,
I’ve updated the recipe. Sorry about that!
Using evaporated milk in Mac and cheese? I have never seen that before. Beautiful picture! What lens are you using?
This is the main reason I’m attracted to this recipe – evaporated milk. It’s kinda unusual way of making mac ‘n’ cheese, don’t you think? And the lens I’m using is 18-200mm lens.
Looks lovely and yummy. The recipe didn’t mention how much chicken or tomatoes to add. Do you rehydrate the tomatoes first?
Hi Molly,
No, I didn’t. I think the “sundried tomatoes” which I have used are the “semi” sundried ones. But I think any kind would be fine as long as they are not fresh ones. 😉
Hi everyone,
I have updated the recipe to include the weight of sundried tomatoes (2 oz)& smoked chicken (about 1 small chicken breast worth). Sorry about that! How can I exclude these ingredients that make this mac ‘n’ cheese extra special? 🙁
Wow!!! Talk about dinner right now!!