A Caribbean staple: Luscious mac and cheese

When I was writing my book The Pepperpot Diaries, I was always going to include mac and cheese. I could not possibly write a book about Caribbean food traditions without including it. It is a Caribbean staple.

Sometimes called macaroni pie, it is found on nearly every Sunday lunch table and no celebration would be complete without it. But we also just eat it on a Tuesday. We even like that terrible yellow stuff in the blue box (which seemed impossibly glamorous when I was a kid).

I have used Comté, Gruyère and strong cheddar here, but you could use any cheese really, to suit your own taste or what is in your fridge. For the breadcrumb topping any bread will do, if you have some leftovers you can just whizz it in a food processor to make crumbs. Or if you want a crisper top, you could use Panko breadcrumbs.

Mac and cheese comes in many iterations, some like to add an egg to make it more set and sliceable, some like it more wet, the main thing is that it is there.

Majken Bech Bailey’s pork chops in tomato cream sauce

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James Gabriel Martin’s carrot and courgette carbonara

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A tasty and homely dinner that takes 10 minutes from start to finish

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Carbonara with a twist: carrot and courgette instead of bacon and cream

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This is mac and cheese turned all the way up to 11! Gooey, rich, garlicky goodness.

Recipe: Andi Oliver’s Luscious mac and cheese

Andi Oliver is a chef, restaurateur and TV presenter. Her book The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table is out now. You can follow Andi at https://www.instagram.com/andioliver/

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