Chicken Mac'n'Cheese

1 - Preheat and Boil
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fill the kettle with water and put it on to boil - this will be for the pasta later.

2 - Chop Chop
Cut 2 chicken thighs into 1 cm pieces. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil.

3 - Fry Chicken
Once the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan and fry, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and crisp all over. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Wash your chopping board and knife as we will need it later.
Timer Instruction: Hey, your chicken should be golden brown by now.

4 - Get the pasta on
Add 200g of pasta to a medium saucepan and cover with boiling water from the kettle.
Season generously with salt and place the pan over a high heat.

5 - Boil the pasta
Boil the pasta for 6-8 minutes until nearly tender but with a firm bite - we will finish cooking it later.
Timer Instruction: Hey, your pasta should be nearly cooked but still firm.

6 - Remove the chicken
Once the chicken is golden brown, remove it with a slotted spoon and place into a large mixing bowl ready for later.

7 - Build your Roux
Add 50g of butter into the frying pan. Once the butter starts to foam, tip in 4 tbsp of flour and finely grate in 2 cloves of garlic.

8 - Cook the Roux
Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Timer Instruction: Hey that's the timer for your roux, the mixture should resemble wet sand.

9 - Get the bread ready
On your now clean board, chop 1 3 of a ciabatta into small 1cm pieces and toss it in the bowl with the chicken and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

10 - Sauce it up
Add 400ml of milk to the roux in 2 stages, whisking well after each addition to form a smooth, thick sauce.

11 - Time for Cheese
Coarsely grate in 75g of the cheddar and 50g of Italian hard cheese, then dollop in 1 tbsp of mustard.

12 - Combine
Drain the pasta through a colander, then tip it into the sauce and mix well to combine.

13 - Top and Bake
Top with the chopped ciabatta and chicken pieces, then grate over the remaining 25g of cheddar. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the bread is golden brown all over.
Timer Instruction: Hey, your bread should be golden brown all over.

14 - Serve
Take the entire pan to the table and tuck in!