curry mac and cheese with chicken
This is a mac and cheese with zero interest in being subtle; curried cheese sauce made creamy with coconut, spicy from jalapenos and curry paste, then loaded with chopped seasoned chicken thighs and finished under the broiler for that crunchy top. The bacon, cilantro, and extra jalapenos aren’t optional garnish either - they’re what makes the whole thing taste bold, smoky, fresh, and addictive instead of just ‘cheesy’. Comfort food, but loud.
History of Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese has deep roots in Europe long before it became an American comfort food. Early versions of pasta layered with butter and cheese show up in medieval and Renaissance era cooking, and baked ‘macaroni pies’ were popular in England and Italy by the 1700s. In the US the dish became famous in the late 18th and early 19th century after Thomas Jefferson encountered macaroni dishes in Europe and served them at formal dinners back home, but the recipe and technique were strognly shaped by James Hemings, Jeffersons enslaved chef who trained in France and cooked the dish in America. Over time it moved from elite dining to everyday food, especially once industrial pasta and cheddar became widely available, and it truly exploded in the 1930s when boced macaroni and cheese made it cheap, fast and accessible during the Great Depression - locking it in as the ultimate flexible comfort dish ever since.
How to make curry mac and cheese?
Preheat oven to 425f and butter a baking dish. Coat chicken thighs with little bit of olive oil and season with salt, curry powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, sichuan chili powder, and coriander. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes and set aside. Bake the bacon slices on a separate baking sheet until crispy, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook macaroni according to package directions. Once done, drain and rinse the pasta with cold water. Meanwhile melt 5 tbsp butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Cook for about 4 minutes until the color starts to turn golden, then add the curry paste and diced jalapeños and cook for another minute. Pour in milk and coconut cream, whisk until smooth and bring to boil. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes occasionally whisking, then turn off the heat and add the shredded cheeses. Stir until smooth. Chop up the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Add the chicken and cooked macaroni in the sauce and mix until evenly coated. Then transfer it in the buttered baking dish. Set oven to broil. In a small bowl mix together breadcrumbs, chopped almonds, and 2 tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese, then broil for about 50 seconds until golden. Dice the bacon into small pieces, then garnish the Mac and cheese with the bacon, cilantro, and sliced jalapeños. Serve hot!