Crab Mac ’n’ Cheese

Name: Crab Mac ’n’ Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 300 g macaroni (try to find the long variety); 1 tbsp rapeseed oil; a knob of butter; 2 large shallots, finely chopped; 100 g fennel, finely chopped; ½ tsp chilli flakes; 2 tbsp plain flour; 1 tbsp tomato purée; ½ tsp smoked paprika; 450 ml milk; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; a pinch of ground nutmeg; 150 g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated; 50 g Gruyère cheese, finely grated; 1 small lemon; 1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1 × 250 g packet of crabmeat (mixture of white and brown if possible); sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; buttered steamed samphire

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
50 min

Appears in

Neven Maguire's Midweek Meals

By Neven Maguire

Published 2020

About

This recipe has notions! I’m playing with the flavours of a classic bisque or thermidor. There is now some very good pasteurised and vacuum-packed crabmeat in the supermarkets, so this needs just a modest amount to transform a regular mac ‘n’ cheese into the most luscious of dinnertime treats.

Ingredients

300 g macaroni (try to find the long variety)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
a

Main course
Vegetarian

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4).

Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling salted water for 7-8 minutes, until tender but still with a little bite (al dente).

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Tip in the butter and allow to sizzle