BBQ Truffle Mac'n Cheese

Servings   Prep Time      Cook Time

Ingredients

• 60g butter

• 60g flour

• 800ml milk

• 2 bay leaves 

• 5-6 black peppercorns

• 1 teaspoon of dried mustard (optional)

• A good pinch of freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon of truffle infused olive oil

• 2 slices of bread (preferably sourdough)

• Truffle dust (optional)

• 200g mature cheddar cheese

• 200g Gruyère cheese (or another hard cheese like Comte)

• 100g Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat the Charlie Oven

1. To prepare the oven temperature - pop a similar amount of charcoal to the size of the dish in the base of the Charlie  Oven cavity. Light with one natural firefighter. Open the air vents top and bottom.  Close the door and leave to heat up for approx. 20-30 minutes. Close the bottom vent when you reach 200 degrees Celsius.

Make the cheese sauce

1. Firstly, make a roux by cooking out the butter and flour over a medium heat in a saucepan.  This should take 4 to 5 minutes.

2. In a separate saucepan, heat the milk with the bay leaves and the black peppercorns.  Bring to a medium heat and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

3. Strain the milk to remove the bay leaves and peppercorns.  Slowly add the infused milk to the roux.  Begin by adding a little to blend in the milk, once the roux has loosened add the rest of the milk.  Cook the milk mixture on a medium heat. 

4. Then add the mustard powder, ground black pepper and the cheese, reserving some of the Parmesan for the topping.   Mix the sauce until the cheese is fully incorporated.

Assemble and cook

1. In a separate pan boil the macaroni until it is al dente and drain.  Pop the macaroni into a oven ready tray. 

2. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix thoroughly.  

3. Use a blender or a grater to turn the bread into breadcrumbs. Mix the bread crumbs with the reserved Parmesan and truffle dust (optional). Sprinkle over the cheesy pasta.

4. Bake in the Charlie Oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.  

Recipe Note 

Truffle infused oil is available in supermarkets. Truffle powder is less readily available, but you can buy it on places like Amazon. 

If you don't like truffle, just leave it out.

Also, choose your favourite cheese of choice.