French Onion Mac 'N Cheese
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 6
- 2 cups/200g/7ozs uncooked macaroni pasta
- 100g/3.5ozs. butter, cut into cubes
- 550g/19.4ozs. brown onions (around 3 large onions)
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 250g/8.8ozs. cream cheese
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1/4 cup/60ml/2flozs brandy
- 2.5 cups/250g/8.8ozs grated cheese (Gruyere or a mix of good melting cheeses)
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons fried shallots*
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Fried shallots can be found at Asian grocery stores
Step 1 - Cook macaroni in plenty of salted, boiling water for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Peel the onions and slice thinly. Add a few cubes of butter into a large frypan and saute the onions with thyme on a low medium heat. Saute until very soft-this will take a while, around 25-30 minutes depending on how thinly you've sliced the onions. Add cubes of butter if needed. Reserve 30g/1oz of the butter to dot on top. Then add the garlic and saute until soft.
Step 2 - Add the cream cheese to the pan and cook until soft and liquid. Add the beef stock and the brandy and cook on medium heat and add salt and pepper. Mix through 2 cups of the grated cheese and macaroni.
Step 3 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F and spoon the mac and cheese into a oven proof pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, fried shallots and the last of the cheese and butter. Bake for 15 minutes and then place under the grill and grill the top. Serve with parsley (this really balances the rich mac and cheese).