Ingredients
The following ingredients have 5 Servings
- 3 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup blue cheese
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 rib celery, minced fine
- 1/2 medium onion, minced fine
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste
- Salt to taste, only if needed
Instruction
- Cook bacon until crisp; cool, chop, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the blue cheese and green onion. Add the chopped bacon and set aside.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in a small soup pot; add the celery and onion and sauté until tender but not browned.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring constantly for about a minute.
- Begin to whisk in the broth about 1/2 cup at a time, constantly whisking until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Repeat with the milk, bringing mixture back up to fully warm through, but do not allow it to boil!
- Begin to stir in the cheese, about 1 cup at a time. Allow the cheese to fully melt before adding in the next cup.
- Add the dry mustard, Creole or Cajun seasoning and a grating of nutmeg - about 4 or 5 passes on a microplane if using whole nutmeg - and heat through until hot.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir to break up the noodles. Heat through, but do not allow the soup to boil. Taste and add salt, only if needed.
- Remove soup from the heat and serve immediately, garnished with a pinch of the blue cheese mixture.
