Macaroni and cheese with bacon and pine nuts

Life can be a bit hectic sometimes, so it’s nice to pull something from the freezer knowing that it’s going to taste as good as it looks. This freezer-friendly macaroni and cheese with bacon and pine nuts is full of flavour and melted cheese goodness.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 50g pine nuts
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 400g macaroni or other short pasta
• 300ml pot double cream
• 200ml pot crème fraîche
• 200g gruyère or mature cheddar, grated
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Put the pine nuts in a dry frying pan, gently toast for 2-3 minutes, then tip onto a plate. In the same pan, add the bacon and cook until crisp.
2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta following pack instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving a ladleful of the pasta cooking water for later.
3. Meanwhile, put the double cream, crème fraîche and half the cheese in a saucepan, stir together and gently warm through until the cheese has melted. Take off the heat, stir in the mustard and some seasoning to taste.
4. Tip the drained pasta into a large baking dish and stir in the cheese sauce, adding some of the pasta cooking water if it looks a little dry. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts and cooked bacon over the top, then scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.