← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 350 g macaroni or other short pasta
• 50 g Butter
• 50 g plain flour
• 700 ml whole milk
• 150 g Comté or Gruyère, grated
• 150 g cooked ham, diced (optional)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). Cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water for 2 min less than the packet says, then drain.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and simmer, stirring, for 5 min until smooth and thick.
3. Off the heat, stir in two-thirds of the cheese and the mustard, and season with salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg.
4. Mix the sauce with the pasta and ham, tip into a buttered baking dish and scatter the rest of the cheese on top.
5. Bake for 20 min until golden and bubbling at the edges. Rest for 5 min before serving with a green salad.

Tips

• Leave out the ham for a vegetarian version, using a vegetarian hard cheese.
• Contains gluten and milk.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

French Cooking Academy Chocolate & Zucchini