This is one of the classic comfort foods and my kids love it, especially Kristofer! It takes hardly any time to make and is a real crowd pleaser. Yes, this is not the healthiest food I serve in my house but sometimes you just have to treat yourself :) There are many different variations to this dish and they are all very similar, this is just mine and the best thing to do is to try different ones until you find the one that suits you and your family.
This is one of the few times that I don't use wholewheat pasta, it doesn't taste very nice in this (yes I've tried.....) so you need to use white pasta for this. And another tip is to grate your own cheese and not use the pre-grated one. It doesn't melt as well.
750 gr dried pasta, I like using Macaroni shaped but you just use what ever you want
100 gr butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
500 ml milk
500 ml double cream
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
500 gr grated cheese, I like using extra mature Cheddar
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
Start by cooking the pasta in salted boiling water. Make sure to cook it for two minutes less then what the packaging says.
While the pasta is cooking you can make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan and add the flour. Stir well and cook for a minute or two to get rid of the flour taste. Slowly add the milk and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add the cream and keep whisking until you have a smooth sauce. If it's too thick you can add a little bit more milk.
Add in the mustard and season with salt and a generous grinding of black pepper. Add 3/4 of the cheese and stir until it is all melted into the sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat and pour over the cooked, drained pasta and mix well.
Now all that's left to do is put this in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with some breadcrumbs and the leftover cheese. This then goes into the oven at 180° fan for 20-25 minutes or until it is nicely golden on top. Once you have removed it from the oven you need to let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.