Step 1.
Heat the oven to 160°C. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the macaroni and cook for 1 min less than the packet instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving a mug of the cooking water.
Step 2.
Whilst the pasta cooks, grate the cheddar cheese.
Step 3.
Melt the butter in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour to form a sandy paste. Cook this, constantly whisking, for 2-3 mins until it starts to smell a little nutty. This is how you know the flour has cooked out, and you can be sure your sauce won’t taste raw flour.
Step 4.
Add the milk to the pan, a big splash at a time, whisking constantly and ensuring it’s all absorbed into the paste. Doing it like this ensures you don’t get a lumpy cheese sauce. Keep adding until you’ve added all the milk, then add the cheese and whisk until it’s melted into a creamy, cheesy sauce. Add the mustard and season it generously with salt and black pepper.
Step 5.
Remove the sauce from the heat, and add the macaroni and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Stir together until all the pasta is coated with the cheese sauce. You want the sauce creamy but just a little looser than you think; add more pasta water if you need to.
Step 6.
Spoon into a 25 - 30cm baking dish. Grate the parmesan over the top, slide it into the oven and bake for 25 mins until golden and bubbling. If it's not browning enough, turn on the grill for the last 5 mins. Cool for a few mins before serving
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