Traditional Macaroni Cheese (as appeared on studentrecipes.com)

(serves 4 people)

Recently I was thinking about my favorite things to eat  during my time as a student. This has to be it - simple, delicious and never gets boring (well to me anyway). Give this a go with some garlic bread and salad.

Ingredients

·         -250g / 9oz Macaroni.

·         -40g / 1, ½oz Butter.

·         -40g / 1, ½oz Plain Flour.

·         -500ml / 1pint Milk.

·         -250g /9oz Grated Cheddar.

·         -50g / 2oz Grated Parmesan.

·         -Salt and Pepper, pinch of both.

You Will Need

- Boiling Pan, x 1 (big enough to fit the macaroni in).

-Boiling Pan, small, x 1 (for the cheese sauce).

-Colander, x 1.

-Knife, x 1.

-Chopping Board, x 1.

-Wooden Spoon, x 1

-Cheese Grater, x 1.

Method

1.       Fill a boiling pan with enough water to submerge the macaroni and then bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the macaroni and turn the heat down to a simmer and leave for around 10 – 12 minutes, until el dente (this is when the pasta is cooked throughout but still has a slight toughness which allows for a bite whilst eating). Once ready remove using a colander and drain well.

2.       In the meantime melt the butter in a small boiling pan on a medium heat. Once melted mix in the flour to make a roux (this is a clumpy, doughy mixture that liquid can be added to to make a white sauce). Next, slowly add the milk bit by bit whilst stirring continuously until all the milk is used and you are left with a thick, pourable white sauce.

3.       Lastly, add the grated Cheddar cheese and Parmesan to the white sauce and continue stirring until combined. Mix the cheese sauce in with the macaroni, season to taste and then enjoy.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my recipe if you want some choices for serving suggestions then check out my recipes on the 'student recipes' site by following this link.

Recipe: Pan Fried Salmon with Rosemary Roasted Courgettes & Sweet Potato in Watercress Herb Oil

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(Serves 4)

Ingredients Needed
For the watercress oil; 

• Pine Nuts / 50g (cashew nuts are cheaper) 
• Watercress / 75g
• Olive Oil / 500ml (vegetable oil is cheaper)                      
• Salt & pepper

For the roast vegetables;

• Sweet Potato / x4
• Courgette / x3
• Rosemary / 10g (dried mixed herbs are cheaper)
• Red Onion / x1

For the fish;

• Salmon / x 4 fillets (these can always be obtained cheaper from a produce market. If you don’t have one close then buy them frozen from the supermarket to save money)
• Cooked Prawns / 200g [not compulsory] (these are also much cheaper if you buy them from frozen)

Equipment Needed

• Roasting Tray / x 1 small, 1 large (1 for pine nuts and one for vegetables, large tray needs to be metallic so it can be placed on the hob)
• Frying Pan / x1 (for salmon & prawns)
• Kettle / x1
• Colander / x1 (to wilt watercress)
• Chopping Board / x1
• Knife / x1
• Blender / x1
• Fish Slice / x1 (to get the fish in and out the pan)

Recipe
Firstly prepare and roast the vegetables;

• Peel and roughly dice the sweet potato and the courgettes. Then chop the rosemary as finely as you can and dice the red onion and leave to one side.
• Place a little oil in a large roasting tray (around 25ml) and place the tray on top of the hob on a high heat. Once the oil is hot add the sweet potato chunks to the tray and shake. Fry these in the tray for 5 minutes, moving regularly(by putting the roasting tray on the hob first you are ensuring that the sweet potato has a nice colour and doesn’t take too long to cook).
• Once the sweet potato begins to colour add the courgettes, onion and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Lastly add the tray to the oven pre heated at 180 degrees for 15 minutes and then remove to add the salmon, return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Next make the watercress oil;

• Firstly place the pine nuts on a small tray and add to the oven with the vegetables for 3 - 4 minutes until they begin to colour (be careful when toasting pine nuts as they burn very quickly – keep an eye on them and they are ready when they turn light brown in colour)
• Next boil the kettle and place the watercress in a colander, then place this in the sink. Pour the boiling water over the watercress to wilt it (this means to soften the leaves so they can be easily blended with other ingredients). Finally refresh the watercress in cold water, drain thoroughly and roughly chop.
• Now add the pine nuts, watercress, and 450 ml of oil to a blender and season with salt and pepper to taste and then combine to form a green liquid that has the consistency of oil)

Lastly cook the fish;

• Heat some oil in a frying pan on a high heat (around 25ml). When hot add the salmon fillets flesh side down and leave undisturbed for 2 minutes. Next flip the fillets so they are skin side down, season to taste and then leave again undisturbed for 3 minutes (this is to insure that the skin goes crispy)
• Then as described above remove the vegetables from the oven and add the salmon fillets to the centre of the tray. Then return it all to the oven for 15 minutes, ensure the salmon is piping hot throughout before serving.
• If you have got some cooked prawns then reuse the same pan that you used for the salmon (if the prawns are frozen run them under cold water for 5 minutes until they have thawed out). Add a little of the watercress oil that you made into the pan and put on a medium heat. Once hot add the prawns and toss until they are all coated in the hot oil - then serve (remember that you only want to coat the prawns in the hot oil as they are already cooked).

To Serve

• Place a quarter of the roasted vegetables in the centre of a plate.
• Then place a fillet of salmon on top of the vegetables.
• Lastly position a quarter of the prawns around the plate and drizzle some watercress oil around the plate (it is easier to use a tablespoon to do this).

 
I hope you all enjoy the recipe. Find more of my recipes, hints and tips at http://www.livelikeastudent-eatlikeaking.blogspot.com/. As always I would love to hear feedback and am happy to answer questions or requests. You can now also follow me on twitter @sebbyholmes.