The Holy Trinity

So spake the Lord. The Holy Trinity, the corner stones of any meal: bread, pasta, potatoes.



Or the devils food, depending on your relationship with the Atkins diet.

But, that is exactly what constituted our delicious lunch this Sunday, courtesy of Marcie.



Marcie has moved into her new gaff in East Dulwich and decided to christen it by inviting some of our favourite people round for lunch: Bert and Sam, Sally and Ben. Sam is a vegetarian, so Marcie decided to make something that we could all enjoy together. So we were blessed with a MASSIVE macaroni cheese. Here's Marcie's recipe, she made it to feed 8, but we're still eating it, so i reckon this recipe will most probably feed 12:

170g flour
170g butter
1.5 pts milk
small tub single cream
400g extra mature cheddar, plus 200g for the topping, grated
200g grated parmesan
1.5kg macaroni
1tsp mustard powder
4 small leeks
2 large cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Firstly, cook your macaroni according to packet instructions. When it is ready drain the pasta and set aside.

Heat a knob of butter and a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the garlic. Gently fry for a minute of two and add your leeks and fry until they are soft. Set aside.

Basically you then make a white sauce. Here is how Fanny Cradock makes hers:

1. Dissolve the butter in a pan and add the flour.
2. Stir until the mixture forms a smooth paste which leaves the sides and base of pan cleanly.
3. Cook for a minimum of 2 minutes to cook out the taste of the flour.
4. Pour in approximately one-fifth of the quantity of your chosen fluid and allow to boil without stirring.
5. Stir until the mixture blends smoothly, beat vigorously and add the remaining quantity of fluid as described, beating well after each addition.

At this stage you start to add your cheeses. Keep adding the cheese, a little at a time, stirring until its melted into the sauce.

Combine the pasta, leeks, garlic and sauce in a large oven proof dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. If the top isn't as crispy as you'd like, after 20 minutes, get it under the grill until such crispness is achieved.

It should look a little bit like this:



To accompany this delicious cheesy feast, we had new potatoes with parsley butter, french bread, and for the health conscious, a green salad.



It was whilst we were all stuffing ourselves that Bert proclaimed the carb heavy combo to be the Holy Trinity. Which got laughs all round. And then bought about the sudden need for a nap. Unsurprisingly.