Posh macaroni cheese with crispy bacon and oven dried tomatoes

by Paul Warburton on 23 July 2010  |  0 comments
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Check out this amazing recipe for posh macaroni cheese with crispy bacon and oven dried tomatoes - for £1.48 per person!

Welcome to our new Frugal Recipe blog! If you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.

Posh macaroni cheese with crispy bacon and oven dried tomatoes (Serves 4)

This is comfort food at its finest. I always like to get a traditional recipe into this blog as they generate the most comments and lots of lovemoney.com readers seem to enjoy the more traditional dishes. So here is my take on a classic.

Ingredients

• 1 500g pack of Sainsbury’s macaroni (68p)
• 1 pint of milk (45p)
• 1 pack of butcher's choice dry cured streaky bacon (£2)
• 1 ball of Sainsbury’s basic mozzarella (47p)
• 4 large shallots (42p)
• 4 medium tomatoes (45p)
• 200g of Sainsbury’s Shropshire blue (£1.47)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, sugar, flour, butter and nutmeg  

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Sainsbury’s where it came to £5.94 - that's £1.48 per head!

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 190C (375F or gas mark 5).
• Cut the 4 tomatoes in half, place on an oven tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a little pinch of sugar. Place in the oven for 30 minutes (they will be ready when reduced down to about half in size and coloured on top).
• Cook the macaroni (300g) as instructed and set to one side once done. It’s always a good idea to drain the macaroni and then refresh in cold water once cooked. It stops the macaroni cooking and takes some starch out of the pasta as well.
• Now for the cheese sauce, melt 70g of butter in a saucepan and add 4 finely chopped shallots. Soften the shallots without colouring, this will take about 4 minutes on a low heat. Once the shallots are softened, turn up to a medium heat and stir in 40g of plain flour and cook for 2 minutes. Then gradually add 1 pint of milk and keep stirring! Once the milk and flour have incorporated into a nice lump free sauce (use a whisk if you have some lumps) add some seasoning, half a teaspoon of nutmeg and 200g of the crumbled up Shropshire blue. Cook out for a further 5 minutes and the sauce will be ready. If it looks a little thick just add a dash more milk.
• Take an ovenproof dish and add the cooked macaroni and pour over the cheese sauce. Mix well and break the mozzarella over the top and sprinkle over some black pepper. Place in the oven for 20 minutes (at 190C with the tomatoes). The finished article will be golden and bubbling on top.
• Finally the bacon. This is real personal preference but I prefer the bacon grilled (you could fry but it will be too greasy for the finished dish. Make sure you grill so the fat runs off and the bacon will get crispier).
• So once the macaroni cheese and tomatoes are ready, keep them warm and place the bacon under the grill. Once the bacon is done serve the bacon and tomatoes on top of a big slice of macaroni cheese. Get some good “cheffy” height with the dish!
• Happy eating!

A bit about the Frugal Recipes chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

“Thanks Paul, another great tasting easy recipe. It was my first risotto attempt ever and it was great, I even impressed my in-laws with it. Many thanks...” welshlady

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes: Falafel, roast pepper and feta salad with chilli tomato salsa  | Chicken ‘oven baked’ with cream, mushrooms and thyme | Slow roasted pork shoulder ‘Chinese style’ with pak choi | Chilli steak burgers, paprika wedges and homemade coleslaw |Broad bean, halloumi and mint farfalle | My chicken curry, basmati rice and coriander yoghurt | Barbecued whole mackerel and a spicy lime salsa | Moussaka | Pan fried trout fillets with a dill potato salad | Chicken braised with cider and red cabbage (and proper baked potatoes) | Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta | Beef enchiladas with a lime sour cream | Slow roasted duck legs and charlotte potatoes with a carrot and cumin salad | Paella | Asparagus and gruyere tart with new potatoes | Haddock fishcakes with radish and watercress salad and lemon crème fraiche dressing | Prawn and pea risotto Honey roasted gammon and apples with champ | Hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly | Shin of beef, kidney and ale pie Tandoori chicken with coconut rice & mint raita | Homemade gnocchi with a tomato & thyme sauce, spinach and ricotta  | Frugal Pancakes | Griddled black pudding, chimichurri mash and caramelised apples  | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice  | Lamb koftas with a feta, mint and chickpea salad & chilli grilled pittas  | Pork, rosemary and white bean ravioli with a chilli tomato sauce  | Sausage & leek casserole with parsley dumpings | Pork, chorizo & cannellini bean stew | Rabbit, bacon & thyme pie | Potato rosti with creamed spinach and poached egg | Pumpkin and sage risotto | Slow braised oxtail with autumn mash | Spiced whole mackerel with chickpea salad | Twice cooked belly pork (with gravy) parsnips and sweet apple red cabbage | Roasted pheasant | Portobello mushroom, port and stilton wellington | Lemon tart with fresh vanilla mascarpone | Massaman curry |  Smoked mackerel pate on crostini and red onion confit  |Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs |  Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lancashire) hotpot

Remember, if you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.