Chef shares her mouthwatering recipe for truffle POTATO GEM mac and cheese - and it's the perfect dinner party dish
- Chef Jessica Nguyen shared her truffle potato gems mac and cheese recipe
- The Melbourne expert said you can make it two ways: 'basic or boujee'
- She said she likes to cook it in the oven to make it extra specially crispy
- Thousands who saw the dish said it will become their next dinner party staple
A chef has shared her decadent recipe for truffle potato gems mac and cheese, and promised it will become your go-to dish for your next dinner party.
Jessica Nguyen, from Melbourne, said in the cooler months, it can be tempting to go for comfort food - and her mac and cheese is the perfect solution that is instantly elevated from 'basic to boujee' with the addition of truffle and potato gems.
'Mac and cheese is one of those comforting dishes that sometimes you just want to whip up quickly and other times, you want to pour your heart, soul and money into, so I'm giving you a choice,' Jessica posted on Instagram.
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A chef has shared her decadent recipe for truffle potato gems mac and cheese, and promised it will become your go-to dish for your next dinner party (finished result pictured)
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Jessica Nguyen (pictured), from Melbourne, said in the cooler months, it can be tempting to go for comfort food - and her mac and cheese is the perfect solution
'Basic: being the standard butter, flour, cheese, macaroni version, and boujee: being in adding in truffle and potato gems on top for extra flavour.'
Jessica said while there are many ways to cook macaroni cheese - notably either on the stovetop or in the oven - she prefers baking it to make it crispy.
'When you bake it in the oven, you get the best of both worlds: a crispy and crunchy top and gooey soft interior,' she said.
'I've also been wanting to try a version with potato gems on top and using truffle now that it's truffle season, so the final version is basically that.
'Gratuitous, but in the best way possible.'
Jessica said while there are many ways to cook macaroni cheese - notably either on the stovetop or in the oven - she prefers baking it to make it crispy (ingredients pictured)
To make the mac and cheese, Jessica said you'll need to get your hands on a few ingredients, including macaroni, milk, truffle oil, butter, shallots, garlic, flour, breadcrumbs, cheddar cheese, thyme, bay leaves and Parmesan.
'For the basic version, you can get just one type of cheese and get your standard pre-grated cheddar from the supermarket,' Jessica said.
'For boujee: you can use a mixture of different cheeses because in this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the more the merrier.'
She added: 'Adding different cheeses will add different flavours and layers of cheesiness. If I want to go all out, generally I'll use a mixture of a high melting Cheddar, a nice funky Parmesan and then a good French cheese like Gruyere and Comte that are insanely good but also insanely expensive.'
You can use a variety of different cheeses to make the recipe more decadent and enhance the flavours more (pictured)
How to make Jessica's mac and cheese
INGREDIENTS
Jessica shared the recipe for her mac and cheese on Instagram (pictured)
Serves eight, cooking time: one hour
One packet of macaroni (500 grams)
4.5 cups of milk (1.25 litres)
Two tablespoons of olive oil
One tablespoon of truffle oil
3-4 heads of shallots
Four cloves of garlic
Three sprigs of thyme
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Four bay leaves
Parmesan
Three cups of cheese, grated (Cheddar)
1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
One fresh small truffle
125 grams of butter
3/4 cups of flour
METHOD
1. Finely chop your garlic and shallots. If you don't have shallots, brown onions will work too.
2. Place your milk, thyme, bay leaves and nutmeg into a pot and heat till warm. Cook on low for 10 minutes to infuse the aromatics.
3. While your milk and aromatics are steeping, cook your shallots and onions on low in a pan with the olive oil, stirring intermittently, and adding your garlic three minutes after.
4. Finely grate your cheese when it cooks and give your milk a stir too.
5. Allow to cook for 10 minutes or until it's golden and caramelised, and then set aside in a bowl for later.
6. Strain your milk and discard the aromatics. Then, use the same pot to cook the macaroni. Bring a pot of water to the boil, generously salt and cook the pasta till al dente, or approximately seven minutes.
7. Melt your butter in a pan, then add in your flour a bit at a time, quickly whisking it into a buttery paste consistency. This is your roux.
8. Slowly whisk in your milk with heat on medium until you get a creamy sauce. This is a béchamel sauce.
9. Now, add your caramelised onion and garlic into the béchamel. Slowly whisk in your cheese until smooth and creamy.
10. Add in your macaroni and stir until all are evenly coated and dispersed. If your sauce is getting too thick, loosen it up with starchy pasta water.
11. Drizzle in optional truffle oil and shaved truffle. Stir to taste and season with salt and pepper.
12. Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle a layer of breadcrumbs, then a layer of grated cheese, then breadcrumbs, and then cheese again. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until crispy and golden. Add extra truffle to season.
OPTIONAL EXTRA STEPS
1. While your mac and cheese is baking, cook some frozen potato gems, baking for 20 minutes until golden.
2. Once the mac and cheese is golden, pull it out, sprinkle a layer of cheddar cheese over the top and place the potato gems on top to cover the surface.
3. Cook in the oven for another five minutes until the cheddar melts and glues the gems onto the mac and cheese.
4. Remove from the oven and hit with one more shaving of Parmesan and truffle. Serve with a glass of Shiraz.
Jessica demonstrated how she makes the mac and cheese with a series of instructional Instagram videos.
She said you can use the potato gem and truffle and cheese addition on any winter warming dish, including shepherd's pie.
Thousands of people who saw the recipe said they were 'drooling' and 'definitely saving the recipe' for a later date.
'I really want this, like right now,' one commenter posted.
'How delicious does this look!' another added.
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