Recipe: ‘Welsh’ Mac & Cheese with Leeks & Kale

Macaroni Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. It’s not a great dish if you’re trying to watch the calories, but at least with the addition of kale and some lovely Welsh leeks, you’ll be getting 2 of your 5 a day… plus, it’s winter, you’re supposed to be getting some extra padding anyway!

This recipe makes the most of some top-notch, Welsh produce – organic mature cheddar from Calon Wen, organic milk from Daioni, and a sweet and surprisingly complex vintage Red Leicester from the Snowdonia Cheese Company.

I love the way that the red Leicester gives this such a bright yellow colour – it reminds me of the Heinz tinned Mac’n’Cheese I grew up on as a kid!

This recipe uses Welsh ingredients that were gifted to me by DiscoverDelicious.Wales.

Ingredients 

• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 handfuls of chopped kale
• 1 large leek, diced
• 50g Calon Wen unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• 1/2 pint Daioni semi skimmed milk
• salt and black pepper to season
• 150g Calon Wen extra mature cheddar (grated)
• 150g Snowdonia Red Storm (grated)
• 150 – 200g macaroni pasta

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the flour and combine over the heat for 1-2 minutes.
3. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk until you get a smooth, white sauce. Return to the heat, stirring all the time.
4. In a separate pan, crush the garlic, add to the leeks and kale, and sauté until soft.
5. In a third pan, cook the macaroni according to the pack instructions.
6. Add 250g cheese to the white sauce in handfuls, and allow to melt slowly, stirring all the while.
7. Once melted, you should have a smooth cheese sauce. Add more milk if it becomes too thick.
8. Combine the cheese sauce with the kale, leeks and macaroni.
9. Either serve immediately (as above) – or transfer to a baking dish, top with the rest of the cheese, and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden (as below).