Proper comfort food this one, not for the lactose intolerant though. Serves 6 easily.
Take 4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, chop into roughly equal chunks and gently fry until cooked through and brown on the outside. As you're doing this cook 500g of macaroni as per the instructions on the packet, then drain. Preheat the oven to 180C.
Remove the chicken from the pan but leave the oil. Add 100g of butter and once melted a tablespoon of hot/smoked paprika along with salt & pepper. Add 100g of plain flour and stir until you have a nice smooth paste. Keep adding milk to this in small amounts, stirring or whisking as you go to ensure it stays smooth. You'll probably need about 750ml of milk, but every time is slightly different. Once you've got a nice smooth sauce throw in a big handful of finely diced (better) or grated cheese. No need to splash out on the expensive stuff here, but don't use crap either.
Once that's melted into the sauce stir in the pasta and chicken making sure everything is coated and the chicken is evenly mixed through. Spoon this mixture into a greased oven dish.
Grate a whole load of cheese and mix with a handful of breadcrumbs, sprinkle this evenly over the top and bake until crispy and crunchy. Cold white wine would be a very good idea about now.
So making this tonight!
ReplyDelete