Spicy Low Fat Macaroni Cheese Recipe

I love a good macaroni cheese, it’s so versatile and comforting, it can be served on its own or as a side dish it can be spiced, up padded out with vegetables, deep fried and even used as a burger bun, the only problem is it’s packed with calories. So I wanted to come up with a version that I could have while watching my calorie intake that wouldn’t mean I had to starve for the rest of the day.

This version is vegetarian but it works well with a little bit of smoked bacon or chorizo, It went something like this

Healthy, delicious, comforting

Ingredients

• 40g plain flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• 100g grated extra mature cheddar cheese (you can use low fat if you want to reduce the calories further
• 2 tbsp low fat crème fraiche
• 2sp Djon mustard
• 100g macaroni
• 2 large chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
• Small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp bread crumbs
• 400ml of vegetable or chicken stock.
• Pinch chilli flakes
• Splash of Tabasco
• nutmeg
• Oil

Method

1. Turn on your grill so it can get nice and hot
2. Place a large pan of boiling water on the stove, season with some salt and add the macaroni, cook until soft. Drain and set aside
3. Fry the peppers, onion, mushroom and peppers in a touch of oil, set aside
4. Place the flour in a sauce pan and mix in the Djon mustard to form a paste, turn on the heat and slowly add the stock a little bit at a time, stirring continuously to stop lumps forming, heat the sauce until it starts to reduce and thicken, add 2/3rds of your grated cheese and the crème fraiche.
5. Mix in the vegetables and pasta, season with salt and pepper, the chilli flakes and a grating of nutmeg.
6. Place the mixture in a large grill proof dish, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top followed by the breadcrumbs.
7. Place under the grill until the breadcrumbs are crispy and the cheese has melted.
8. Serve in a bowl with some salad and a splash of Tabasco.