Looking for a different salad for your Australia Day BBQ? Today’s Bacon and Spinach Macaroni Salad can be eaten hot or cold and makes a super side for steak or sausages.
Ingredients
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 300g macaroni
- 250g bacon, diced
- 50g butter
- 1/4 cup flour, sifted
- 2 cups milk
- Cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 100g baby spinach leaves
- 30g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC and grease an eight-cup capacity baking dish.
Combine the breadcrumbs and one tablespoon of the olive oil in a small bowl.
Cook the macaroni in a saucepan of salted, boiling water as per the packet instructions. Drain the macaroni and return to the pan.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan and cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.
Heat the butter in a saucepan until the butter foams, then add the flour and cook while stirring for one minute. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the milk. Add the pepper and return to the heat. Cook while stirring for five minutes or until the sauce thickens, then add in the cream, cheese, salt and pepper. Keep cooking until the cheese melts.
Add the cheese sauce, spinach, bacon, salt and pepper to the macaroni. Toss until combined and spoon into the baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and breadcrumb mixture, then bake for 20 minutes until the crust is golden.