Personally I’ve always regarded the dish as children’s food, rather stodgy, and just too much of a good thing as to render it a trial after the fourth fork-full. With a crispy crumb topping and some bacon on the side, it can be served in less gargantuan portions and make way for some salad on the plate. The option is yours but for me the additional textures and colours and flavours are the only thing that will tempt me to make this lovely bake.

This is a large quantity of cheese béchamel and the danger is always that it will be bland, don’t be afraid to use a powerful, mature cheddar.

Ingredients - serves 4

12 rashers of bacon, grilled
mixed leaf salad
mustard salad dressing (1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 3 tbsp sunflower oil mixed together)

for the bake:
300g macaroni
700ml milk
60g butter
60g plain flour
pinch cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
1 bay leaf
small onion, sliced
200g mature cheddar, grated
Parmesan and herb breadcrumbs (80g fresh bread crumbs mixed with 40g grated parmesan, 1 tbsp chopped parsley & 1 tbsp chopped chives)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C
Butter a deep baking dish and set aside. Fill a large saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil, scatter in the dried pasta and boil for 2-3 minutes less than the cooking time quoted on the packet, drain and reserve.

Make the cheese sauce by first warming the milk with the onion slices, bay leaf and a few whole peppercorns. Before it reaches boiling point remove from the heat and leave to infuse. In a large pan melt the butter, stir in the flour and some salt and pepper with a wooden spoon and cook out over a low heat until foaming. Strain the milk and discard onion and bay. Add a third at a time to the pan and beat into the butter and flour firstly with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk (which will be much more successful at achieving a smooth sauce). Once all milk is incorporated and the sauce has reached boiling and has thickened remove from the stove and stir in the grated cheese; check seasoning.

Fold the macaroni into the sauce, pour into the baking dish, and sprinkle over the Parmesan and herb breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Spoon onto plates beside salad and top with freshly grilled bacon rashers.