Smooth, creamy cheese sauce with a harissa kick, generously enveloping perfectly cooked pasta and topped with a sprinkling of impossibly tempting cheese? This gluten-free mac and cheese ticks every box – it’s comforting, creamy, smooth and delicious.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Pasta meals
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Servings: 6people
Author: Jane Devonshire
Ingredients
400ggluten-free pastaI use penne or fusilli as gluten-free macaroni can be hard to find
6tbspcornflour (cornstarch)
800mlwhole milkplus a little extra for making the cornflour paste
250gextra-mature Cheddar cheesegrated, plus extra for sprinkling (vegetarian if required)
50gParmesan or vegetarian hard cheese alternativegrated
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and parboil for 6-7 minutes; it needs to be about half-cooked. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Mix the cornflour with a little milk until it is the consistency of double cream.
Put the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and slowly add the cornflour paste, stirring or whisking all the time. Keep stirring/whisking for a couple of minutes – the milk will thicken quickly but you need to cook out the cornflour.
Remove from the heat and immediately add the Cheddar and Parmesan. Beat in until you have a smooth, thick cheese sauce.
Add the harissa paste and salt and stir in, then add the partially cooked pasta, stir through, and place in a baking dish.
Sprinkle over a little extra Cheddar cheese and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. This is best eaten as soon as you can without the cheese burning your mouth.