Cheesey Overload (Cheese and Onion Pasta Bake) (Vegetarian)

Member Name: unixgirl

Product:	Vegetarian
Date:	03/02/06 (1705 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of Cheese

Disadvantages: The fat content

Most people will know how to make Macaroni and I thought I did too till I met someone recently. Trying to impress (obviously) I offered to cook them their favourite dish. So here is Macaroni with a twist...........this one is definetly for cheese lovers.


Ingredients:-

(serves 3-4)


400g macaroni pasta
1 large white onion (do not use the red onions as it doesn't taste as nice)
4 large red tomatoes sliced (for the topping)


for the sauce:-

300-400g of grated Red Cheddar (I used Scottish vegetarian friendly cheddar, using red cheddar gives it a nice colour)
50g of butter
50-75g of plain flour
400ml of Semi-skimmed or full fat milk (don't use skimmed as it just doesn't turn out right)
upto 400ml of cold water (this is used little by little when making the sauce to stop it becoming too thick.


Method:-

Turn your grill on to heat up whilst cooking, you'll need it later. Dice up the onion and add it and the pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook for the appropriate time according to the pasta instructions. While the pasta and onion is cooking in another pot melt the butter and then quickly add the flour and enough milk to make a paste. Keep stirring it and slowly add all of the milk. Do this gradually so that lumps are stirred out as you go along. Do not let this boil, use a low heat for this. If you need to (if the sauce is too thick) add some of the cold water you have set aside. Only add this sparingly then stir, if more is needed then add a little more and stir again. The sauce should be nice and thick. Now add 3/4 of the grated cheese to the sauce and stir over a low heat so all the cheese melts into the sauce.

Once the pasta has cooked, drain it and put the pasta and onions back into the (now empty) pot they were cooked in and add the cheese sauce and stir well. You can add a generous twist of black pepper here if you like. Transfer all of this into a large casserole or lasagne dish and top with some of the remaining grated cheese then top with the sliced tomato and the rest of the grated cheese. Now place the dish in unde the pre-heated grill for about 10-15 minutes or until it browns and starts to bubble. Then serve.

In total this takes about 25-30 minutes to make and is a very simple yet filling dish and a variation on normal macaroni. This can be served as a main course on its own or with chips, fritters or warm crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Summary: A perfect dish for cheese lovers