Recipe: Truffle Wholewheat Mac & Cheese

Kelis, US singer and chef:

When I was pregnant, I started trying to be more conscious about what I was putting into my body. I’m not a dieting kind of person, but wanted to eat well. I started baking my own bread (what can I say: I had a lot of time on my hands!). I also started cooking with and eating things like flaxseed (linseed), wholegrains and brown rice. I had also just graduated culinary school. All I wanted to do was stay at home and cook things that were delicious and good for me. This mac and cheese, made with wholewheat penne and four types of flavourful cheese, came out of that period of my life, and now I’m known for my mac and cheese.

If I were to ask my husband’s friends, my friends, and my family what they want me to make them for dinner or for a birthday, hands down they’d say, “a pan of your mac and cheese.”

COOK’S TIP: It’s important to cook the pasta just until al dente for this recipe. The pasta will continue to cook when it bakes in the oven, and mac and cheese is definitely best when the pasta still has some bite to it.

INGREDIENT NOTE: Truffle salt is a luxurious but handy product consisting of sea salt mixed with black truffle shavings. You can find it at speciality

food stores and cheese shops. If you can’t locate it, a drizzle of truffle oil is a good substitute.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/gas mark 5. Grease a large baking dish and set it aside.

2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and salt it well. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

3. Infuse the milk, cream and soured cream in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat until it begins to steam, but don’t allow it to boil. Set aside.

4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Gradually pour in the milk mixture, whisking constantly until no lumps remain. Reserve 30g each of the Cheddar and mozzarella. Add all the remaining cheese to the milk mixture, along with the truffle salt and jalapeño, and stir until the cheeses have melted completely. Add the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top to make it as level as possible.

5. Put the Ritz crackers in a bowl and crush them with your hands. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole, followed by the reserved cheeses. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.