I’ve wanted to do another “one-pan” pasta video, where we
cook everything right in the sauce, like we did in our famous Orecchiette with Sausage and Arugula recipe, but then I happened to see someone eating mac and
cheese on TV, and those plans changed.

I decided to adapt the same approach, and see what would
happen if I cooked the macaroni right in the milk, before making the cheese
sauce, and what happened was something just as creamy, cheesy, and delicious as
recipes using more traditional techniques. Besides loving the taste, and
texture, the whole procedure only took a few minutes longer than the boxed
stuff; not to mention we avoided about a dozen ingredients we probably
shouldn’t be eating.

This is a simple procedure, but there are a couple things to
keep in mind. Be sure to turn your heat off as soon as the cheese has melted,
or almost melted in. If you continue to cook the cheese it will separate and
get grainy. Also, please buy high-quality cheddar, and grate it yourself. Pre-grated
cheeses are of lower quality, and the shreds are coated in a cellulose power
that can give the final product an odd texture.

Thanks to being a little arrogant, and a lot delusional, I
assumed I had stumbled on to some new, game-changing recipe here, only to find
out that literally thousands of people had discovered this great trick way before
me. Which is fine, since deep down I know I could’ve invented it, but simply
didn’t need to. Regardless of who gets the credit, or which high-traffic
YouTube chef eventually claims to have invented it, the technique works quite well,
as so I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

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Ingredients for 2 portions:

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon fine salt), plus more to
taste

pinch of cayenne

pinch of dried mustard, optional (I didn’t add, but many
people do)

very small pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup small elbow macaroni

2 packed cups freshly grated cheddar cheese (about 6 to 8
ounce by weight)

For the panko topping:

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons butter

– Cook crumbs in the butter over medium heat until golden
brown.

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