The best macaroni and cheese

I recently blogged about the very best macaroni and cheese I ever had, in a French post, which had a lot of success. Ironically enough, it was a success among my English readers. It is a recipe from a Rose Elliot book, my wife is quite fond of her cooking. As it is the first Monday of November, thus a doubly dreary Monday, I thought I would plug again the macaroni and cheese and give the recipe, a courtesy of my wife, who wrote it all in a blog comment last time. The secret is, I think, the capers and especially the Dijon mustard. They really make the recipe stand out. Anyway, here it is:

350g macaroni
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 pint of milk
150g boursin cheese with herbs & garlic or black pepper (optional)
1-2 heaped teaspoons of Dijon mustard
2-3 tablespoons of capers
250 g strong cheddar cheese, grated
Freshly grated nutmeg
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
1. Cook pasta

2. Put olive oil in another pan, add the flour. Stir for a minute or two, until smooth, then add milk, a quarter at a time, whisking after each addition to make a thick sauce.

3. Remove from heat, and add the Boursin, cheddar (leaving a handful), mustard, capers – and then the cooked, drained macaroni.

4. Season with grated nutmeg, salt and pepper, then gently stir in the cherry tomatoes.

5. Put it into baking dish, adding cheddar over top. Cook for 30 mins at gas mark 6/200 C until bubbly and golden.