CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

This is Julia Moskin’s take on your favourite childhood mac and cheese, and it’s light years ahead of the boxed stuff in terms of flavour and texture. It has a powerful advantage, too, for weeknight cooks: There’s no need to precook the pasta, which softens in the oven, absorbing the liquid from the dairy products. Spoon it right from the pan, while watching television.

RECIPE

Time: 1 hour 40 minutes Yield: 6 to 8 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup cottage cheese (not low-fat)

2 cups milk (not skim)

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Pinch of ground cayenne

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar, grated 1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup grated Cheddar for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated Cheddar, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

TIPS

Fat is flavour. Don’t stint on it here: whole milk, please.

Experiment with the cottage cheese. You could replace it with ricotta, for instance, or use a mixture of ricotta and cream cheese.