How to Cook Like Heston

Heston Blumenthal makes the ultimate silky cheese sauce to create this macaroni cheese recipe on How to Cook Like Heston

Heston: "If you want a real centerpiece, cook the mac and cheese in the hollowed-out rind of a cheese – it adds to the overall cheesiness and looks great. But if you can’t buy the whole cheese, I have included instructions for cooking it traditionally. If you can’t get hold of these specific British cheeses, you can substitute them for a good quality cheddar."

Serves 4

Prep 10 mins
Cook 45 mins

• 200g macaroni
• ½ tsp salt
• 15ml truffle oil
• 300ml dry white wine
• 300ml brown chicken stock, infused for 20 minutes with Berkswell cheese rind, keep warm
• 80g Spenwood cheese, finely grated
• 10g cornflour
• 80g soft cream cheese
• Black pepper
• 15g goat’s cheese, diced
• Berkswell cheese, for gratinating

1. Preheat the grill. Place 400ml of water, the pasta and the salt in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the pasta is done and all of the water has disappeared. Toss the pasta with the truffle oil.

2. In a small saucepan, reduce the white wine over a high heat to 30ml. Add the warm chicken stock to the reduced wine. Mix the grated cheese with the cornflour and add to the pan. Stir until the cheese has been incorporated into the sauce, then add the pasta.

3. Cook over a medium heat until the pasta is warmed through, then stir in the cream cheese. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

4. Place in a hollowed-out cheese rind, sprinkle with diced goat’s cheese and add more macaroni on top. Alternatively, half fill an ovenproof baking dish with the pasta, sprinkle with diced goat’s cheese and add the remaining macaroni on top.

5. Sprinkle some more cheese on top and place under the grill to melt and gratinate the cheese. Serve immediately.