My go to cheese sauce

Quite simply this is my go to cheese sauce .. perfect for using in lasagne, my alternate linguine carbonara or any dish that requires a cheese sauce

You will need:

3 level tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp butter
50 grated cheddar cheese 

100g red Leicester cheese 
2 dairylea cheese slices
1 tsp ground black pepper
1tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 litre whole milk

• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter on a low heat. Add in the flour & stir till combined and you have a smooth, slightly thick  paste.

• Cook the flour for 2-3 minutes then pour in the milk, and turn up the heat to medium.

• Whisk the milk until the flour has combined and there are no lumps. Leave the heat on meduim and add all the rest of the ingredients.Continue to whisk until all the ingredients have combined.

• Leave to simmer for a few minutes till you end up with a semi thick sauce, check the seasoning of onion salt & pepper & adjust if need be. Leave to cool and it will thicken up slightly more & if need be add a little more milk and whisk once again to thin as you need just before using

Alternate carbonara

Carbonara is always one of those dishes that I've wanted to try but quite obviously being Muslim the ham is a no no, so I decided to make up a dish as similar as possible that I could to it.

I decided to replace the bacon for halal Turkey bacon, and used my go to cheese sauce.

For my carbonara to serve 4-6 people you will need

450g linguine/spaghetti
8-10 rashers turkey bacon sliced
2 tsp garlic granules / 1 clove crushed garlic
A double batch of my go to cheese sauce

• To start, boil the linguine as per packet instructions. Drain, but save a little of the pasta water as this will help the pasta stay silky and al dente, rather than dry and rubbery when all the water has been drained. Set aside

• In a frying pan, fry off the rashers & garlic in a tbsp of oil. When using bacon no oil is needed as the fat helps crisp and cook the rashers, whereas with the smoked rashers they are cooked but need a little help to crisp up, stir into the linguine.

• Pour the cheese sauce over the linguine ensuring all the strands are coated well. Serve with garlic  bread, and garnish with vegetarian parmesan if desired