The Hairy Bikers’ crayfish macaroni cheese combines spicy pork and seafood in this Southern take on macaroni cheese with a lovely gratin topping - from their show Mississippi Adventure. Made mainly with storecupboard ingredients, aside from the crayfish tails and chorizo, you'll probably have most of the ingredients at home already which makes this recipe super cheap to make. This really is the ultimate comfort food - a macaroni cheese surf and turf that's super indulgent thanks to the chorizo and the crayfish adds softness and extra depth of flavour - it's always a hit!
Ingredients
- 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 250g dried macaroni or other short pasta shapes
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 50g chorizo sausage, skinned and diced
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 50g plain flour
- 600ml milk
- 75g mature Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 75g Gruyere, coarsely grated
- 25g dry white breadcrumbs
- 300g peeled and cooked crayfish tails, thawed if frozen
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Rub a little butter over the inside of a roughly 1.7litre shallow ovenproof dish to grease. Preheat the oven to 210°C/410°F/Gas Mark 6 1/2.
- Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. As soon as the water comes to the boil, add the pasta and stir well. Return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until almost tender then drain.
- While the pasta is prepared, put the butter in a large non-stick saucepan and melt over a low heat. As soon as the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Pour three tablespoons of the butter into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- Return the pan to the heat and add the chopped onion and diced sausage. Cook over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until the onion is well softened and the sausage has begun to release its fat.
- Stir in the cayenne, paprika, nutmeg and flour until well combined with the butter.
- Slowly add the milk, stirring well between each addition.
- When all the milk has been added, bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce is thick but pourable (a bit like proper custard). Add a little extra milk if the sauce seems too thick.
- Mix the grated cheeses together and add 100g to the sauce. Stir over a low heat until melted. Season the sauce well with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix the rest of the cheese with the breadcrumbs and melted butter.
- Stir the crayfish tails and drained pasta into the cheese sauce and mix well. Tip into the buttered dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb gratin mixture.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Serve hot with salad.
Top Tip for making Hairy Bikers' crayfish macaroni cheese
If the pasta is cooked before the sauce is ready, simply drain in a colander and toss with a little sunflower oil to stop it sticking
Simon King and David Myers are the fantastic duo that make up the Hairy Bikers and are best known as Si and Dave. The Hairy Bikers have several cookbooks published including How to Love Food and Lose Weight and Eat for Life. Hairy Biker recipes are always triple tested and try to be as fuss-free as possible so you can trust the timings. Si and Dave have also had several hit cooking shows as they remain as one of the UK’s favourite cookery duos.
-
Hairy Bikers Shropshire fidget pie
Hairy Bikers' Shropshire fidget pie is an absolutely classic traditional meat pie made with ham and cooking apples and featured on the Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain.
By Hairy Bikers • Published
-
Hairy Bikers' steak and ale pie
The Hairy Bikers' steak and ale pie recipe is an absolute classic. Learn how to make a rich meaty pie filling and soft buttery pastry...
By Hairy Bikers • Published
-
Hairy Bikers' chicken and wild mushroom pie
A tender chicken and rich wild mushroom pie recipe by The Hairy Bikers. Ready in just six simple steps...
By Hairy Bikers • Published
-
Tiramisu crepe stack
Give a humble pancake the ultimate transformation with this easy but showstopping tower of coffee pancakes...
By Jess Meyer • Published
-
Creamy mushroom and blue cheese buckwheat galettes
Buckwheat will give these pancakes a pleasant savoury flavour, as well as making them gluten-free...
By Rose Fooks • Published
-
Munchies skillet cookie
A gooey, delicious cookie baked in a skillet. A great dessert for sharing with loved ones...
By Jess Meyer • Published
-
What is TikTok pasta sieve hair? The 'curly hair' trend explained
Here's all you need to know before you rush to the kitchen to try it...
By Selina Maycock • Published
-
Nigella peanut butter pasta could be your new go-to dish
Would you try the trending Nigella peanut butter pasta?
By Selina Maycock • Published
-
The Queen's strange pasta rule that Princess Charlotte breaks
By Kudzai Chibaduki • Published