Mexican mac'n'cheese

Mac'n'cheese is certainly one of my favourite dishes, and I also like when it's slightly altered at times. I like the fairly new M&S ready meal, mac'n'cheese with leek and smoked cheese breadcrumbs, and recently one of my local burger places had truffle mac'n'cheese on offer (really really tasty!).

So that's how I thought that I could also try a new version of the classic in my kitchen. I wanted to go with Mexican spices, and what could've been a better choice than Gran Luchito smoked chilli paste as the base for the spicing. Feel free to use other brands, but I really like Gran Luchito at the moment.

My partner doesn't like milky and creamy sauces, so I whisked the cheese directly into chilli seasoned vegetable stock. I liked the end result of this recipe, soft macaroni smothered in cheese with a hint of chilli, just perfect for me. Try it, if you are a fan of mac'n'cheese and/or Mexican food!

Mexican mac'n'cheese

One large oven dish

Ingredients

300 g macaroni

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 small chilli

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp smoked chilli paste

Sprinkle of smoked paprika

Sprinkle of salt

Sprinkle of ground black pepper

200 ml vegetable stock

200 g grated emmental

Method

Cook the macaroni and set to side.

Chop the onion, garlic and chilli finely and cook them in vegetable oil until soft.

Mix in the seasoning and the smoked chilli paste.

Then add the vegetable stock and let it heat through.

Gradually start whisking in the grated cheese so that it melts into the mix. Use about 100 g of the cheese at this stage.

When the cheese mixture is smooth, mix it with the macaroni and put into an oven dish.

Cover with the rest of the cheese and bake at 180 C for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Macaroni cheese with pepper

I made this quick weekday mac 'n' cheese a bit more special by adding a little dry cider, which goes really well with cheesy dishes, and a romano pepper (hiding under the cheese on the photos!). My partner doesn't like creamy sauces, so that's one reason for making more creative macaroni cheese dishes. Luckily he is fine with hard cheeses. So here is my quick recipe that can truly save a weekday.

Ingredients

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 romano pepper

Olive oil

A dash of dry cider

Salt

Pepper

Basil

300 g Cheddar and Mozzarella mix

400 g macaroni

Breadcrumbs

Method

Cook the macaroni al dente in water.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and cut the pepper into small cubes. Start cooking them in olive oil, then add a dash cider and the seasoning and let simmer a while.

Grate the cheese and add half of it into the cidery onion mix and stir until it's a smooth sauce with melted cheese. Keep stirring thoroughly or even use a whisk like I did to keep the sauce smooth.

Mix the cooked macaroni into the sauce and pour it all into an oven dish. Cover it with the other half of the cheese and some breadcrumbs and bake at 200 C for about 10 minutes until the surface is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Radish leaf pesto with macaroni

A simple weekday pasta is where it's at right now! I just can't resist all the lovely seasonal summer greens that can make amazing salads and pasta dishes. So many leaves can be used to make pesto, just pick your favourite! I think that radish leaves are brilliant additions to pasta dishes, either a bit wilted or as pesto. Until a few years ago, I didn't even know that they are edible! Now of course I hate to waste them and always try to incorporate them into cooking. An easy radish leaf pesto with macaroni was just the right choice for this weekday dinner.

These are the ingredients I used:

Leaves from a bunch of radishes

Olive oil

Garlic

Macaroni

French breakfast radishes

Vegetarian pasta cheese shavings

And the making was obviously very easy:

Purée the radish leaves with the olive oil and garlic clove into a smooth pesto.

Cook the macaroni al dente and combine it with the pesto.

Serve the dish with a few french breakfast radishes and vegetarian pasta cheese shavings (hold the cheese, if you want a vegan meal).

Enjoy and have a great week!

Your VegHog

Macaroni cheese with a twist

First I wanted to call this dish an English macaroni cheese, but then I realised that I had used Herbes de Provence and crème fraîche, so it probably wouldn't have been appropriate. Then I planned to name it the European macaroni cheese (Italian, English, French components), but that didn't quite sound right. In the end I had to settle for the name Macaroni cheese with a twist. The twist are my English ingredient additions, dry cider and Cornish Cruncher cheese that made the macaroni bake very savoury and special tasting. Have a look how easy the making is.

Ingredients

1 shallot

1 tbsp olive oil

250 g macaroni

200 g Cornish Cruncher cheese

150 ml dry cider (Black Fox)

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

2 tbsp crème fraîche

50 g breadcrumbs (I used lemon and pepper breadcrumbs)

Method

Chop the shallot finely and cook in olive oil at moderate heat until soft. In the meanwhile also cook the macaroni in salt water. Leave them a bit more al dente than usual as they will keep cooking in the oven.

Grate the cheese. Add the herbs, black pepper and sea salt to the shallots and then pour the cider in. Add 2/3 of the cheese and the crème fraîche. Let cook for a few minutes more and then also mix the macaroni in.

Place the mix into ramekins or a large oven dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the breadcrumbs on the top and bake at 180C for about 15 minutes.

Serve with a salad and enjoy!

Your VegHog

Macaroni casserole

This is a different version of macaroni cheese without a creamy sauce and with added soy mince. This one is quick an easy to make and a perfect dinner for busy weekdays.

WARNING! This recipe makes two large oven dishes, so if there aren't enough eaters, half the amounts or prepare as cheap eats and freeze for future use.

Ingredients

1,5 cups soy mince

1tsp vegetable stock powder

2tbsp soy sauce

3 shallots

3 garlic cloves

2 bell peppers

1tbsp olive oil

2tsp salt

1tsp white pepper

1tsp paprika

1tbsp parsley

500g macaroni

300g Red Leicester and Cheddar cheese mix grated

Method

Hydrate the soy mince in water with added vegetable stock powder and soy sauce for about 15 minutes.

Chop the shallots, garlic and peppers and cook them in olive oil until soft. Add the drained soy mince to the pan and season. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes to let the flavours blend.

Boil the macaroni in water until done. Then add it to the soy mince and stir.

Place everything into large oven dishes and cover with grated cheese.

Bake at 200C for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Mushroom and macaroni bake

I haven't made pasta bakes for a while, so here is a recipe for one. This is a very easy and quick bake to make and I like the mushroomy taste.

Ingredients

2 cups macaroni

250g chestnut mushrooms

1 onion

1 garlic

Mozzarella

200ml vegetable stock

Mushroom vegetable cube

Lemon and pepper bread crumbs

Parsley

Black pepper

Salt

Olive oil

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Boil the macaroni in salted water until they are al dente. Slice the chestnut mushrooms and chop the onion and garlic. Grate the mozzarella. Then prepare the vegetable stock and add parsley and mushroom vegetable cube in there.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and season with salt and ground black pepper. Mix the boiled macaroni with the pan contents and pour it all into an oven dish.

Add the mozzarella and mix some of it among the mushrooms and macaroni and cover the bake with it. Sprinkle lemon and pepper bread crumbs on the top. Never mind if you can't find the ready made lemon and pepper bread crumbs, you could just add some ground pepper and lemon zest to regular bread crumbs.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and is golden brown. Enjoy warm with a nice and fresh side salad.

Your VegHog

Tomato and chili macaroni bake

This is a quick pasta bake for a weekday dinner, which doesn't require loads of ingredients, time or effort. It tastes good nevertheless. I usually find pasta bakes almost better than pasta dishes as the bakes are covered in melted cheese!

You'll need:

Macaroni

1 Onion

1 Chili

4-6 Tomatoes

2 Garlic cloves

Emmentaler grated

Fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Do so:

Pre-boil the macaroni until slightly tougher than al dente. They will cook further in the oven at a later stage.

Chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chili and grate the cheese.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion first. When it is translucent add the tomatoes, and after a while frying and stirring, the garlic and chili. 

Season with salt, pepper and basil.

Add the macaroni to the sauce, stir through and put it all into an oven dish. Place grated cheese on the top and bake at 175C for about 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog