Macaroni and (Blue) Cheese

The first thing I do the moment I am back in my kitchen (after touching every single thing in my pantry, of course) is to make macaroni with roquefort. I was inspired by this recipe many months ago and my trip to France has made all things possible. I actually fought tooth and nail with H in order to bring this to Angola. Soft, fresh cheeses don't usually travel well, especially in warm climates.

Anyway, if you're a mac and cheese lover like us, you should try this. Even when the pungent smell of blue cheese chokes you. I'd never look back. Well, at least when I'm in Angola, I shall be contented with the wallet-friendly portuguese version of edam.

It's basically a simple mac and cheese recipe, with caramelized onions and blue cheese. I even added the pine nuts as per recipe, but H doesn't like that. So I'll skip it next time.

* Well, at first, preheat the oven to 175 C.
* Then cook the macaroni. I grabbed my bow pasta, since I have got no macaroni in my pantry.
* Then you brown caramelized the onions, with a bay leaf. Season with salt & pepper.
* Prepare the bechamel sauce: butter, flour, milk, pinch of salt - roux, to the desired thickness.
* In a large bowl, mix the pasta (drained), bechamel sauce, caramelized onions and a large dollop of parmegiano reggiano and diced roquefort.
* Transfer to ramekins or what have you, into single portions, then top with breadcrumbs, and more parmegiano. Add chopped pine nuts if you want.
* Bake for 20 mins or till the top turns into golden crust.

We absolutely love this version of mac & cheese. Though it's a tad too oily than the usual mac & cheese - because of the cheese. But I'll reduce the bechamel sauce & oil when caramelizing the onion next time.

Happy trying!