Mac and Chorizo Bake

Who doesn’t love Mac and Cheese!? A few of you may have tried the other Mac and Cheese recipe on my site which uses Butternut Squash to recreate the smooth and creamy texture of a regular Mac and Cheese and I love it but this week I thought I would try and make a more traditional style Mac and Cheese – whilst still keeping it WW friendly. The result, I have to say, was amazing. This is probably one of my hubbie and I’s favourite dishes I’ve created in a while as its both cheesily good and bursting with that lovely smoky chorizo flavour. It’s a little higher in points than other dishes but it really doesn’t feel like a ‘diet’ dish so in my view, it’s worth every single point! Give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

Mac and Chorizo Bake

Serves 6 = 13sp per serving on BLUE, GREEN and PURPLE

(if you omit the chorizo this works out at 11sp per serving on every plan)

Ingredients

40g light lurpack

40g plain flour

2 tsp Dijon mustard

450ml skimmed milk

160g reduced fat mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Crushed chillies to taste (optional)

360g macaroni, dried

100g garden peas, frozen

50g chorizo, peeled and diced

Small punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved

16g panko breadcrumbs

Method

Cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions (mine needed boiling in salted water for 11 minutes). Add the peas for the last 5 minutes. Drain once cooked (reserve a little of the pasta water) and pop to one side.

Meanwhile, take a medium sized sauce pan and add the lurpack. Melt on a medium heat and then add the flour and mustard. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time. Reduce the heat to low and then begin to gradually add the milk, again keep stirring all the time. Continue to cook for 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add 100g of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and add the paprika, cayenne pepper and crushed chillies (if you are having them). Stir to combine and pop to one side.

Next take a small frying pan, spray with 1kal and add the chorizo. Fry on a medium heat until the chorizo starts to sizzle and the oils begin to release. Using tongs remove the chorizo from the pan and pop into the cheese sauce (leave the oil in the frying pan).

Add the tomatoes to the frying pan and fry in the chorizo oil on a high heat for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are a little charred.

Give the cheese sauce a stir and if its a little thick add a small splash of the pasta water to loosen then add the macaroni, peas and tomatoes to the cheese sauce and stir everything together.

Add the mixture to a large baking dish.

Top with the rest of the cheese, the breadcrumbs, a sprinkle of paprika and a twist of salt and pepper.

Pop in the oven for 15 minutes until the top is nice and golden.

Serve and enjoy!