Quick tomato macaroni cheese

Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:

Calories611kcal

Carbs50.1g

Sugar8.8g

Fat32.9g

Saturates18.7g

Protein26.4g

Ingredients

340 g macaroni

200 g bread, preferably stale, for making breadcrumbs

800 g super-ripe tomatoes

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 large handfuls fresh basil

55 g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

2 anchovies

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 handfuls Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

565 ml single cream

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ nutmeg, grated

400 g cow's milk mozzarella, broken up

1 handful fresh thyme, leaves picked

extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Get a pan of salted boiling water going and cook your macaroni according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, break your bread up, place it in the food processor and whiz it up to form breadcrumbs. Set aside. Wash your tomatoes and place them in the food processor with the garlic, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Whiz up for 30 seconds. Then add 2 handfuls of the Parmesan, the cream, vinegar and grated nutmeg. Whiz until smooth and season carefully to taste so it's really yummy!

By this time your macaroni will probably be cooked, so drain it in a colander, saving some of the cooking water. Place the pasta back into the pan and pour over every last bit of the cheesy sauce. You want it to be quite loose because you'll be surprised how quickly the sauce will disappear inside the macaroni and will look dry. So add a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water. Now you need to get yourself a baking dish about 8–10cm deep – this could be an earthenware dish or even a shallow ovenproof pan. Pour the pasta straight into your baking dish and break the mozzarella into little pieces over the top. Mix the last handful of Parmesan with the thyme leaves and breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over the top of the dish. Drizzle generously with good extra virgin olive oil – this will give you a lovely crunch topping.

Place in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until piping hot and golden on top. Serve straight away, sprinkled with a little extra Parmesan. Best eaten with a nice salad – and you'll love it.

by Jamie Oliver