Crab Mac 'n' Cheese

Name: Crab Mac 'n' Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 40g butter; 40g all purpose flour; 1 tsp dijon mustard; 300ml milk; 100g grated mature cheddar; 1 small clove of garlic; 50g brown crab meat; 50g white crab meat; 170g pasta; salt; pepper

Everyone loves a comforting, carb filled pasta dish from time to time. My wife—a lover of tomatoes—and I often dine on divine Italian concoctions, from a simple tomato sauce, to a more sophisticated spaghetti vongole. While pasta is synonymous with Italy, for me Macaroni Cheese is more of an American classic, and there's no dish quite more comforting.

The humble Mac and Cheese can be easily enhanced with the addition of extra flavours. Some crispy bacon, some sharp accidic tomatoes, or any other combination that takes your fancy. One of our favourites though has to be crab.

While the name suggests the dish to be made with macaroni, I personally prefer to use a larger shape such as penne or rigatoni. Feel free to use whichever shape is your favourite. Using a combination of brown and white crab meat gives you a wonderful combination of both flavour and texture. You can of course use one or the other, but trust me, using both really makes this dish a winner. When in the UK, I tend to buy Seafood & Eat It Fifty Fifty Crab to make life easier. Ensure your crab meat is fresh and in date before using.

20m

Serves

Prep

Cook

15m

Total

20m

Ingredients

40g butter

40g all purpose flour

1 tsp dijon mustard

300ml milk

100g grated mature cheddar

1 small clove of garlic

50g brown crab meat

50g white crab meat

170g pasta

salt

pepper

Method

Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
In another saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour to make a roux.
Slowly stir the milk into the roux bit by bit. Take your time with this as you don't want to make the sauce lumpy if you can. Don't worry if the sauce looks thin as it will thicken as the flour cooks.
Once all the milk is added, use a garlic press (or finely chop the garlic) and add it to the sauce along with the cheese and the mustard. At this point taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
Once your pasta is cooked and drained, combine it with the sauce and add the crab. Heat for a minute or two and ensure warmed through before serving.