mustard & fontina macaroni cheese

Nigel Slater, in his 'Kitchen Diaries', cooks the way I'd like to: seasonally, spontaneously, depending on what he finds at the market or in his back garden. It always sounds so lovely and grown-up, and every now and then I manage it, but in reality I cook in one of two ways: I make the same thing over and over again, because I'm busy and it's easy, or I read a recipe in a magazine or cookbook or blog and am possessed by a sacred fire to make that thing, right now, whether or not strawberries are in season or I can buy duck breasts at my local supermarket. Sometimes I manage to curb this by bookmarking the recipe (my recipe books are full of brightly coloured flags, and I have thousands of recipes tagged on delicious). Other times nothing will put me off. This macaroni cheese was one of those times.

The first mac and cheese I ever made came from a recipe in (I think) an Australian magazine, and I can no longer find it. I know it involved gruyere, and was delicious, and I've mourned the loss of that recipe for approximately eight years. Like everyone else, I have made and loved Martha Stewart's crack and cheese, to which I always add caramelized onions. I don't think either of these is the perfect mac and cheese, and neither is this one, although all are fantastic and basically, if we were ever to pronounce one recipe perfect, we'd miss out on the fun of aiming for the ideal. Because there is an ideal, Platonic macaroni cheese out there somewhere, I'm sure of it.

This one is bloody good, though. I added caramelized onion to mine, with plenty to serve on the side, because everything tastes better with caramelized onion, especially creamy cheese and pasta. I also added sharp cheddar to bump up the cheese factor and, instead of breadcrumbs, used crumbs from these stilton biscuits. But only because I had them already. I didn't make them specially.

mustard and fontina macaroni cheese

adapted from Nigel Slater, The Kitchen Diaries

1 onion

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb macaroni, penne, or other small pasta

5 cups half-and-half (or milk, or cream)

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup all-purpose (plain) flour

a dash of nutmeg

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

5oz Fontina cheese

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

3 tsp grain mustard

1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs*

5 tbsp grated pecorino cheese

Set the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

Slice the onion into very thin wedges. Warm olive oil in a skillet, add the onion, and cook, covered, over low heat, for at least 20 minutes. If the onion starts to brown too much, add more olive oil.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until it is almost tender, approximately 8 minutes. Take care not to overcook; the pasta will cook more in the oven. Drain immediately.

Meanwhile, warm the half-and-half in a saucepan with the bay leaves. When it comes to the boil, remove from the heat. Melt the butter in another pan. When it begins to bubble, add the flour and cook, stirring, over a moderate heat, until it is a pale paste. Gradually pour in the milk and whisk until smooth, then simmer over a low heat, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened.

Season the white sauce with pepper, salt, and a dash of nutmeg. Dice the cheeses and stir into the sauce along with the pasta and caramelized onion. Tip the mixture into the gratin dish. Toss the breadcrumbs with the grated pecorino and scatter over the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

* Or these stilton and cheddar drop biscuits, crumbled :)

sun-dried tomato & almond pesto

Today was the first day it's felt like autumn in Austin, and if I've ever felt like falling to my knees and kissing the now-less-infernal earth, it was this morning. This sun-dried tomato and almond pesto has been my go-to meal in the busy, hot first weeks of semester, and I think it'll last well into the cooler months. It's seasonal transitional kind of food - a little bit comfort and a little bit light. The ingredient proportions are open to experimentation; these are the ratios I prefer, and I like this with very little garlic. If your sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil, you might want to use that instead of (or along with) the extra virgin olive oil.

sun-dried tomato & almond pesto

60g whole raw almonds or ground almonds

150g sun-dried tomatoes

40g freshly grated parmesan

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

handful of basil leaves

1 small garlic clove, or less, crushed

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

If using whole raw almonds: place a small pan over medium heat and allow to get hot. Add almonds and toast for a few minutes until they brown, but don't blacken. Remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder or blender.

If using ground almonds: place a small pan over medium heat and allow to get heat. Add almonds and toast very carefully for approximately one minute. Remove from heat.

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process to your desired consistency. I like a smoother pesto for these flavours. Check seasoning and serve with pasta and parmesan.

penne with pancetta & rosemary

Lately, in the warmer weather, I've been enjoying pasta toppings that aren't swamped by a thick sauce. Pancetta in the form I've used it for this dish - very thinly shaved - will be sweet and surprising, but easily overpowered if the sauce were any thicker. The onions and tomatoes are sweet too, and through it all comes the strong flavour of rosemary. Use plenty of rosemary, some whole leaves and some snipped. It'll taste like summer.

Penne with Pancetta & Rosemary

3oz / 85g very thinly sliced pancetta (about 15 slices)
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
a good handful of fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp dried red pepper / chilli flakes (or more, or less, to taste)
1 tin peeled whole Italian plum tomatoes*
salt & freshly ground black pepper

penne or other pasta, enough for 2 (main course) or 4 (first course)

Put a frying pan over medium high heat and add pancetta. You can cut the pancetta into smaller pieces with a knife or kitchen scissors; I pull it apart roughly with my hands, so the pieces are still quite large. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, until it's started to curl but isn't yet crispy, then remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.

There should be just enough fat in the frying pan to cook the onions; if there isn't, add a splash of olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the diced onion, and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the rosemary, red pepper (chilli) flakes and garlic, and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't colour and stick.

Drain the tomatoes of their canned juice, retaining the juice. Slice off the core of each tomato and squeeze out the seeds (don't keep the seeds). Roughly chop.

Turn the heat under the frying pan up to medium high, and add the tomatoes, the pancetta (I crumble it a little more, and remove some of the fat), and half the juice from the tomato can. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook, simmering, for about 20 minutes, or until there is very little visible juice.

Meanwhile, cook the penne in plenty of salted, rapidly boiling water until al dente. Drain, then add to the frying pan. Stir through the sauce and cook for a minute or so. Serve immediately with plenty of grated parmesan.

* Later in the summer, when the tomatoes are at their peak, I'll make this with fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded.

spicy sausage pasta

This is a simplified version of a much richer sauce from one of the River Cafe cookbooks. That one - which is so delicious that I make it much more often than I should - uses more cream, more tomato, red wine and rosemary. It's a wintery dish, and it takes a long time to make right. This is my faster, warmer-weather version of the sauce: thyme instead of rosemary, no wine, garlic, and a bit less of everything.

It's important to use sausages you really enjoy the taste of - anything porky and herby and good will do. Other kinds of pasta will work too, but this is one of those sauces that really benefits from everything being roughly the same size, which is why it's so good with small shells, and even better with orecchiette.

Spicy Sausage Pasta
serves 2

olive oil
1 red onion, diced
a handful of thyme leaves
red pepper flakes (dried chilli flakes) - as many as you like - 1/2 tbsp for a decent kick
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 good pork sausages, meat removed from their skins and separated into small pieces
1 approx. 400g tin of peeled tomatoes
1/2 pint cream
salt and pepper
shell pasta or orecchiette
parmesan to serve

Heat a glug of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Brown the pieces of sausage in the oil, breaking up larger chunks until they're the size you'd like to eat. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.

Add the thyme leaves to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 1 minute, and then return the sausage to the pan.

Drain the peeled tomatoes*. I like them with fewer seeds in this dish, but don't fuss about it; cut the core out and give them a squeeze so most of the seeds will come out. Dice the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted, rapidly boiling water.

A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the cream to the sausage mixture and stir well. When the pasta is almost al dente, drain thoroughly (especially important will shell pasta), then add to the sauce. Mix well. Cook for a minute or two more before serving with lots of parmesan and black pepper.

* Keep the liquid - it's good in stock, or use it to extend the sauce.