A delicious Mac 'n Cheese that will keep you coming back for more!! - It does NOT get better than this with secret Bechamel Sauce!!
Sorry forgot the tomatoes for the topping. Was a bad brain day for me. Will add them to pix when next making, but the dish was still lovely without them.
I make the recipe with light sauce: Total Weight of recipe: 3026 g ~ Total Calories in recipe: 6,459
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Magical Smoked Haddock Mac ‘n Cheese:
I even forgot to add the carrot for the bechamel sauce and it was still delish!
Below ingredients were as made on 13 Feb 2016. The sauce is absolutely divine! Optional veggies to serve would be peas, carrots, and gems.
I wouldn’t recommend serving this with potatoes, mash, or chicken breasts. I have tried it. It really does only compliment haddock.
The sauce is soo delish! Promise! Just don’t eat it all before you’re done!
Note to self: When next making, I will use the thicker bechamel sauce as I found the lighter was just a wee bit too runny. I added the juice from steaming the fish to it rather than throw out its good flavor and nutrients. No water was added when steaming the fish.
Ingredients:
500 g macaroni, uncooked weight (May use any pasta of choice)
20 g butter
30 g oil
salt to taste
1 tsp salt (the above to cook pasta)
500 g haddock fillets
1-liter whole milk
120 ml (60 g) flour
120 ml (120 g) butter
pinch of nutmeg
pinch white pepper
5 ml parsley, dried (Or fresh to taste)
2 med onions, roughly chopped into milk
1 carrot, large (Peeled and sliced diagonally)
2 celery stalks, chopped
2.5 ml black or green peppercorns
460 g cheddar cheese
500 g elbow macaroni (Add to boiling salted oiled water. Boil 7 mins microwave on high)
500 g Smoked haddock fillets (my weight on a scale after unpacking) Steam in micro-steamer with no water 4 minutes on high. Add remaining fish liquid from steamer to sauce if don’t mind it a bit runny as this is a thick bechamel sauce. It will add to the flavor.
2 med onions, roughly chopped into milk
1 carrot, large (Peeled and sliced diagonally)
2 celery stalks, chopped, leaves reserved and added just before serving
2.5 ml green or black peppercorns, whole (or up to 1 tsp)
Heat veggies in milk. Do not allow it to boil over. Turn off heat. Allow infusing.
Bechamel Sauce:
1 liter of milk
120 ml (60 g) Cake flour (light sauce) ~ OR ~ 180 ml (90 g) flour (thicker sauce)
120 ml (116 g) butter (light sauce) ~ 180 ml (173 g) butter (thicker sauce)
pinch nutmeg or to taste
pinch white pepper or to taste
460 g strong cheddar cheese (grated into the sauce once done)
Method:
Heat the milk in a small pot.
In a separate pot, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the steeped vegetable milk through a sieve, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. If any lumps form beat them out with electric or stick blender/beaters. Remove from heat. Add back the strained veg (discard bay leaf) and puree veggies in (softened onions, carrot, celery, and whole peppercorns) until you have a smooth sauce. Season with salt and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Putting it together:
Toss hot (drained) pasta into the hot (heated) sauce together with reserved celery leaves, coating well. Fold in bite-sized pieces of fish. Top with sliced tomatoes, basil, or parsley and grated cheese and bake or place under the grill or reheat in microwave, followed by topping with grated cheese, placed under the grill until melted, bubbly and light golden brown.
A big thank you to my sister Debbi for creating this dish! Enjoy! :)