Quick tomato macaroni cheese
I think this is the best macaroni cheese recipe ever (even though it's a bit naughty)! I've used sweet tomatoes in my recipe as they really complement the cheese, and instead of béchamel sauce I've used single cream as it's a lot lighter. I've also topped the dish off with cheesy breadcrumbs, which give it a wonderful crunch. I think you'll laugh when you see how easy it is to make. I put it together extremely quickly by using my Magimix food processor. Don't worry if you haven't got one – you can chop it all up by hand instead and then mix it in a bowl.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 14 of 15 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 14 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 110 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 85 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Basil | 5 leaves fresh (2.5g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Macaroni | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 340 g macaroni
- 200 g bread, preferably stale, for making breadcrumbs
- 800 g super-ripe tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 2 large handfuls fresh basil
- 55 g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 anchovies
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 handfuls Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 565 ml single cream
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ nutmeg, grated
- 400 g cow's milk mozzarella, broken up
- 1 handful fresh thyme, leaves picked
- extra virgin olive oil