Jo Wood’s Magic Chicken & Macaroni Cheese

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 75g Plain flour
• Sea salt
• Coconut oil

For the macaroni cheese:

• 75g butter
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 250g dried macaroni, cooked to al dente
• 50g plain flour
• 500ml whole milk
• 200g cheddar, grated
• Salt and pepper

For the salad 

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Raw honey
• 10ml Cider vinegar
• 30ml Extra virgin olive oil 
• Two big handfuls salad leaves 

Method:

Chicken:

1. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the maple syrup, garlic and egg yolk, mix well to coat, and leave in the fridge for an hour to marinate.
2. Put the flour into a shallow bowl and season well with salt.
3. Dip the chicken into the flour to coat. Set aside on a plate.
4. Heat the coconut oil in a wide heavy-based frying pan. Fry the chicken for 3–4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.

Macaroni Cheese:

1. Meanwhile, melt 25g of the butter in a medium saucepan and saute the tomato and onion until softened. Tip into a baking dish and top with the cooked macaroni. 

1. Melt the remaining 50g of butter in the sauce pan and stir in the flour to make a roux and cook for 1 minute.
2. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until thickened. 
3. Stir in half of the cheddar, until melted and combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. 
4. pour the cheese sauce over the pasta in the baking dish, and mix well.
5. Bake at 210°C for about 10–15 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Make the salad whilst the macaroni cheese cooks. Mix together the mustard, honey, vinegar and oil to form a dressing. And dress the salad leaves.