Winter Solace – Low Carb Macaroni & Cheese

Posted by Andrew Boyd from Carb Freedom

Serves 6 – 8
Preparation: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Combining pork, lamb, low-carb pasta and cheese, our low-carb take on mac and cheese is the perfect winter meal for the whole family. We recommend using Sedani pasta as these ribbed, hollow pastas help capture the dish’s full flavour, but feel free to experiment with other varieties.

Ingredients
For the Ragu
1 pack of low-carb Sedani
250g of coarsely minced pork
250g of coarsely minced lamb
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Large onion diced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
100ml red wine (optional)
Salt
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
For the Sauce
600ml milk
200g grated mozzarella cheese
50g grated parmesan
2 tsp of xanthan gum
For the Topping
1 slice of crisp bread
Grated mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. In a large saucepan add the olive oil, onion, garlic and salt and cook on a medium heat.
3. Meanwhile add the sedani to boiling water.  Cook for 10   minutes or until al dente.
4. Once the onions and garlic have softened add the paprika and crumble the mincemeat into the pan.  Cook on a medium heat for 4 minutes using a spoon to break-up the mincemeat.
5. Add the tomato paste, dried herbs and red wine to the mince.
6. Once the juice has reduced by half (approx. 2 minutes) turn the pan down to a low heat.
7. When the pasta has cooked drain and add to the Ragu and mix well.
8. Place the milk and grated mozzarella in a saucepan on a medium heat. Stir continuously so the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan
9. When the cheese begins to melt turn the heat to low.
10. In a small bowl mix the Xantham Gum and a 2 tablespoons of COLD milk and mix well.
11. Add the Gum mix to the cheese sauce and stir continuously.
12. Blend the cheese sauce over a low heat with a bar mix style blender until it thickens.
13. Add half the sauce to the ragu & pasta & mix through.
14. Transfer the mix to a 30cm rectangular deep sided pan and add the remaining cheese sauce on top
15. Using a blender or even just by hand crumble the crisp bread over the top of the pasta mix.
16. Grate mozzarella on top and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Note if you want to prepare the dish earlier, you can stop after step 15 and place in the fridge.  When ready to serve continue with steps 16 & 17 but reheat in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.