20 minute Spicy Mac and Cheese. - The Gardening Foodie

Ingredients

3 cups / 300g pasta, any shape I used penne pasta
2 Tablespoons / 28g butter
1 medium tomato, diced
About 8 chives chopped, keep aside about a tablespoon of the chopped chives, to use as a garnish
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chilli powder or add to taste preference
½ teaspoon Mixed dried herbs
1 cup / 250 ml heavy / whipping / fresh cream
1 cup / 250 ml full fat milk
2 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch / cornflour See note 2 optional
2 cups grated cheese

Instructions

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions. SEE NOTE 1
While the pasta is cooking, start making the cheese sauce
Place a saucepan on the stove and turn up the heat to medium. Add in in butter and allow to melt before dropping in the diced tomatoes, garlic and chives.
Cook for 2 minutes, then add in the chilli powder / cayenne pepper and mixed dried herbs. Cook for 1 minute.
Pour in the heavy/ fresh/ whipping cream and milk over the tomato, garlic and chive mix.
Add the grated cheese and cook for 3 minutes. If using, add in the cornflour now and stir well with a whisk to break up any lumps. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5 to 8 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Strain out the cooked pasta in a colander, but do not rinse it out. After draining out the water, put the pasta back into the pot and pour the hot cooked sauce over . Stir it in,coating the pasta well with all the sauce.
Top with grated cheese, allowing it to melt over the hot pasta.You can put it into the oven to just crisp and brown the top if you prefer or just leave it with the melted cheese.
Garnish with a few chopped chives and serve immediately. Pasta is always best served as soon as it has been cooked. It tends to dry up and sometimes lose its flavor as compared to being served immediately.

Recipe Notes

Something which I love to do, is to add about ½ a teaspoon on dried mixed herbs to the pasta water. As the pasta cooks, it absorbs all the flavor of the aromatic herbs.
If you do not want to use corn flour / cornstarch, then add in an extra 1 cup of cheese to the sauce. The more cheese you add, the thicker the sauce will become. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5 to 8 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition