Old Amsterdam Mac ‘n Cheese Bites
10 minutes – 10 persons – Drinks
The greatest frustration with toasties is when the bread is burnt on the outside while the cheese inside has not melted. With the following approach you solve that problem. For the ultimate glossy crunch, bread that is nicely browned but not burnt, use mayonnaise instead of butter. It sounds crazy, but it really works! The oil in the mayonnaise gets hotter than butter and together with the egg it creates a nice, equal, crispy crust.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the slices of bread on a bread board and spread a generous layer of mayonnaise over them. Turn four slices over and place cheese and ham on top. Slice the leek into very fine rings and put these on the toasties. Then place the other slices of bread on top, with the mayonnaise side upwards. Warm a frying pan and fry two toasties until they have nice brown crusts. Flip over and repeat. Do the same with other two toasties, while keeping the first two warm in the preheated oven. Serve with spicy mustard.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. (possibly quick-boiling) macaroni
- 1 oz. of butter
- 1/8 cup of flour
- 1 tsp spicy paprika powder
- 8 oz. of milk
- 8.8 oz. grated Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda
- 9 oz. of grated Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda to garnish/dip
- 2 eggs
- Approx. 4 oz. of flour (to be removed)
- Approx. 5 oz. of Panco, Japanese breadcrumbs
- Sunflower oil for frying
Preparation
Cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the package in water with salt. Drain using a colander. Let the butter melt over low heat until it no longer fizzes. Stir in the paprika powder and flour and cook for a minute. Add the 8 oz. of milk and stir it with a whisk to bind and make a smooth sauce. Let it boil for a short while and turn the heat down.
1. Stir in the Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda cheese with a spatula until it is almost melted. Mix in the macaroni and add salt and pepper if you wish. Put everything in a small bowl and let cool completely in a few hours. Cover with plastic wrap.
2. With wet hands, form balls the size of a large bitterballen or large golf ball.
3. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan to 350°F. If you put a piece of bread in the oil and it immediately fizzles, then the oil is hot enough.
4. Prepare 3 dishes. 1 with flour (the second amount of flour in the ingredient list – 4 oz.), 1 with the 2 beaten eggs and 1 with the breadcrumbs. Roll the “mac and cheese” bites, in succession, first in the flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs. Do this in batches of about 5-6 at a time.
5. Fry them for about 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve them with ‘Old burger’ sauce:
4 tablespoons of mayonnaise mixed with 2 teaspoons spicy paprika power and 2 tbsp of grated Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda to garnish/dip.
