Back in March, I was kindly introduced to Old Amsterdam. Being a cheese addict, the beer matching at The Oast House was a heap of fun, culminating in a night of very, er, interesting dreams.

 

 

I’ve never been able to look at a paddling pool the same way. And no, I won’t be divulging that one.

 

 

This time around, we were looking at wine and those lovely chaps, George and Marcin from the Albert Square Chophouse, had a selection of wines to go with the cheeses on offer – not only Old Amsterdam, this was an opportunity to showcase some other lovelies, including Brie de Meaux (a personal favourite) matched with two Sauvignon Blancs and a stunning cheddar, matched with Kleine Rust, Stellenbosch.

 

 

However, I was a little distracted. After my first introduction to the fudgy nutty yumminess that is Old Amsterdam, I made a gorgeous macaroni cheese. So good, that as soon as the invite entered my inbox, my mouth watered.

 

 

So, whilst I’ve detailed the cheeses and their matches at the bottom of this post and, I thank George and Marcin wholeheartedly as the wines were absolutely beautiful, I feel it only fair to share this recipe. It’s a bit naughty. Oh and it might also contain sausage.

Yes it does, it does contain sausage.

Macaroni Cheese with Spicy Sausage

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

500g Macaroni or other pasta shape

100g Butter

80g Plain flour (if you can get it, Sainsbury’s Sauce Flour is excellent for this)

800 ml Whole milk

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

Freshly grated nutmeg

200g Old Amsterdam Cheese grated or cubed (150g for the sauce, 50g for sprinkling on top)

6 Cooked spicy sausages – I used Bobby’s Bangers Welsh Dragon

 

Method:

Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4 (180C).

Slice your sausages into chunks and put to one side for later.

Pop on your pasta – cook to the instructions but, try and keep it a little bit too al dente – so a little bit too hard. This means it can absorb some of the moisture from the cheese sauce later.

Strain and pop into your oven dish.

 

 

Make the sauce. Now, please don’t be scared of making a roux, it’s not as scary as it looks. And practice makes perfect – though even I’ve had to strain out lumps on the odd occasion.

So, add your butter and flour to a pan on a gentle heat on the hob. Use a whisk or wooden spoon and as the butter melts mix in the flour to form a paste.

 

 

Add some milk – about a quarter of it – and mix it in. The paste will seem to absorb it, this is normal, don’t panic. Repeat the process, until the roux has thinned and it’s more like a sauce and less like a paste.

Keep heating until it comes to a gentle boil and let this cook, stirring all the time, for a couple of minutes until it’s thickened and this will cook out the flavour of the flour.

 

Let it cool a touch and add in your mustard, cheese and grate in a little nutmeg. Stir until it has all been combined.

Pour over your pasta, stirring so the sauce coats it all.

Add the chopped sausages – you can place them on top, or stir them in, all up to you.

 

 

Sprinkle the reserved Old Amsterdam on top and pop into the oven for about 25 minutes, when your dish should be bubbling, the cheese on top toasted and maybe a touch brown and your sausages heated through.

Enjoy!

As mentioned before the cheeses and wines are below. All the wines are available from the Albert Square Chophouse itself and should you fancy putting your own cheeseboard together, the cheeses can be found in various retailers, including Waitrose and Booths.

Three Choirs Coleridge Hill was matched with Old Amsterdam.