Cornish Crawfish Mac N Cheese

The perfect family supper for eating alfresco on cool spring and summer nights, this Cornish Crawfish Mac N Cheese is comfort food for the soul.

Ingredients

500g handpicked Cornish Crawfish meat
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
big pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp tomato purée
1litre milk
400g macaroni
50g butter
150ml white wine
50g plain flour
1 tsp Dijon mustard
160g extra mature cheddar , grated, plus extra to top

For the garlic breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
50g breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested

Method

Step 1
Heat the oil in large frying pan over a high heat, add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook for around five minutes until softened and well coloured.

Step 2
Add the cayenne pepper and tomato purée and stir to coat everything, turn the heat down to medium and add the milk. Stir well, then remove from the heat when it is just coming to a simmer and set aside for 30 mins to infuse.

Step 3
In a separate bowl, mix the garlic, olive oil and lemon zest together with some seasoning to make the breadcrumb topping, then set aside.

Step 4
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Boil the macaroni in salted water until it has a slight bite (around two minutes less than on the packet instructions), drain and set aside.

Step 5
Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat until foaming, then add the wine and cook for five minutes until the wine has reduced by half, then whisk in the flour to make a sandy paste.

Step 6
Turn down the heat and pour your milk mixture into the pan a little at a time, whisking constantly and allowing each addition of milk to be fully absorbed before adding any more.

Step 7
Add the chopped crawfish meat, mustard, crab and cheese. Stir well until the cheese has melted, then season to taste.

Step 8
Tip in the macaroni and stir to coat everything in the sauce.

Step 9
Transfer into an ovenproof baking dish (or six small ones) and top with a sprinkling of grated cheese and the garlic breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 mins until golden and bubbling, then allow to cool a little before serving.

 

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Shop Ingredients

W Harvey & Sons handpicked Cornish Crawfish meat

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With thanks to Truro and Penwith College students

These recipes have been created by the level 2 Professional Cookery students from Truro and Penwith College. Usually working in the college’s popular restaurant Senara, the students devised their own dishes using the fresh shellfish and seafood sold by W. Harvey & Sons both online and in its Newlyn shop.

Working together proved to be such a success that W. Harvey & Sons and the college have agreed to form a long-standing partnership to continue to provide the same opportunity for students going forward.

The Hospitality and Catering division of the college offers courses covering Food and Beverage Service and Professional Cookery, from levels one to three, with an additional level three certification in Patisserie and Confectionary. It works closely with the Paul Ainsworth Academy as well as other companies that specialise in the food industry.

Find out more here