Baked macaroni cheese with tomatoes

Serves: 4 adults
Ingredients:
300g macaroni
50g low-fat spread
1 small onion finely chopped
50g plain flour
600ml semi-skimmed milk
100g reduced fat mature Cheddar cheese grated
1 tsp English mustard
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tomatoes sliced

What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 190°, fan 170°C, gas mark 5.
2. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes, or according to the
instructions on the packet, until tender.
3. Meanwhile, melt the low-fat spread in a large saucepan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes
until softened, but not brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Return to the heat
and cook gently for about 1 minute, stirring, until the mixture has a texture like sand.
4. Remove from the heat and add the milk a little at a time, stirring well to mix together. Then
return to the heat, stirring all the time, until the sauce is thick and smooth. At this point,
remove from the heat and add about two-thirds of the cheese and the mustard. Season with
pepper.
5. Drain the cooked pasta well and return it to the saucepan. Stir in the hot cheese sauce. Tip
the mixture into a baking dish which can hold about 1.2 litres, or use individual serving
dishes. Top with the sliced tomatoes and sprinkle the left-over cheese on top. Bake for 15-20
minutes, until piping hot, then serve.

Tip 1: Use tubes of pasta instead of macaroni. Take care not to overcook it - it needs to keep a little
'bite'.
Tip 2: Instead of tomatoes you could use a layer of sliced leeks, courgettes and peppers, lightly
cooked in boiling water to soften them.

Nutritional information:
Per adult portion (i.e. 1/4 recipe)
2098kJ / 502kcals
25g protein
13g fat of which 4g saturates
76.5carbohydrate of which 12g sugars
3g dietary fibre
330mg sodium
0.8gsalt