RECIPE TIME: Making macaroni with my boyfriend [and WORLD PASTA DAY]

Welcome to the first post of my newest feature! You all know I pretty much stopped adding munches to my reviews but since my blog is still called Books & Munches and I’m not ready to say goodbye to food.. I figured I had to find some other way to incorporate this element! Which is how I came up with “Recipe Time“!

I don’t know how often I will do this. Might be a bi-weekly thing, might be a monthly thing. It’ll all depend on my inspiration and the time I have to put these posts together. Not to mention whether or not I have time to make pictures while cooking!

For my first Recipe Time, I decided to go with a personal of my boyfriend and myself: macaroni. We’re huge pasta-eaters and macaroni is definitely one of our favorites. On top of that, today is WORLD PASTA DAY. I didn’t really need a better excuse than that but.. An extra motivation for this specific choice is knowing there are so many ways of making macaroni. I know some Americans have a whole other view on this than we do, which makes it even more fun to post our recipe and hopefully have some people around the world try it out. Do let me know how you liked it if you did!

For about: 2 – 3 people

For the pasta:
~ olive oil
~ vegetable stock cube
~ 250 gr. pasta [we love using spirelli because the cheese sticks to it so well!]

For the sauce:
~ 30 gr. / 1 oz butter
~ 30 gr. / 1 oz plain flower
~ 0.5 l. / 16.9 fl oz milk
~ 200 gr. / 7 oz cheese [we love using a pasta mix and cheddar, but you can use whatever you like!]
~ extra cheese should you put it in the oven for a crusty top!
~ 150 gr. / 5.3 oz ham cubes
~ black pepper
~ nutmeg

~ If you want a crust on your macaroni at the end, don’t forget to preheat your oven on 200°C / 392°F.
~ Fill a cooking pot with enough water to boil the pasta in.
~ Add the vegetable stock cube and some olive oil.
~ Put the fire on highest until the water starts boiling.
~ As soon as it’s boiling, put in the pasta and set a timer.

Time to start making the sauce at this point!

~ Put a second pot on the heat and throw the butter in.
~ As soon as all the butter is melted, add the flower and start whisking.
~ Wait until the mixture is bubbling and has a cookie-like smell.
~ Adds small amounts of milk, whisk until it’s homogeneous.
[The mixture will become lumpy the first few times you’re adding milk; nothing to worry about!]
~ Keep repeating until all the milk’s been used.

~ Keep whisking for about five minutes so the sauce can thicken.
~ Time to add the pepper and nutmeg! Add as much or as little as you personally prefer.
~ Whisk before adding the cheese(s) and then whisk some more until all the cheese has melted.
~ Add the ham cubes and whisk them through the cheese sauce.

~ By now, your pasta definitely should be ready and drained.
~ Add the pasta to the sauce and stir it all through the sauce.

Now you have a choice to make! Can you wait a bit more before digging in or are you very eager to start eating?

~ If you want that crust, pour the entire content in an oven dish, add the extra cheese on top and put it in the oven for about 12 minutes or until you have the crust you desire.

What do you think? Do you like cheesy pasta?
Are you thinking about trying this recipe out?
How do YOU make macaroni?!