How to make an incredible bacon-and-tomato macaroni cheese

Macaroni cheese is the ultimate in comfort food. It's tasty and wholesome and makes a big meal with enough leftovers for school/work lunches and the freezer. It tasted even better the next day

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

500g macaroni

2 large red tomatoes

15ml (1 tbsp) oil

1 large onion, chopped

500g mature cheddar cheese, grated

200g smoked ham or fried bacon, cut into cubes (optional)

45ml (3 tbsp) fresh breadcrumbs

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Cheese sauce:

90ml (6 tbsp) butter

90ml (6 tbsp) flour

1.2 litres full-cream milk

7.5ml (1½ tsp) dry mustard powder

5ml (1 tsp) cayenne pepper

2.5ml (½ tsp) ground nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1) Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2) Peel and chop the tomatoes. Fry the onion in oil till just soft, add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3) To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large pot, then add flour and mix to a roux. Remove from the heat and add half of the milk, whisk and return to the heat. Add the remaining milk and keep whisking until thickening. Add mustard powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

4) Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in 400g of the cheese. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir till well coated.

5) Pour half the pasta and sauce into a large ovenproof baking dish. Add the tomato and onion and sprinkle with chopped ham or bacon. Pour over remaining pasta and sauce.

6) Combine remaining 100g cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over pasta and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes till top is golden brown.

Cook's tip: If you're in a hurry, speed up the process by using a 400g can of tomato and onion.