A quick cheese sauce coats pasta with the kind of comfort that takes fifteen minutes start to finish. Tillamook's natural cheddar melts smooth and sharp here, held together with butter and a splash of milk to make something between mac and cheese and a proper French sauce.

Serves 2. 20 minutes, 18 at the stove.

About 1080 calories a serving, 42 g protein, 101 g carbohydrate, 55 g fat. From USDA figures for 100% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

Cook mode

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, salt it as you would the sea, and cook 8 ounces of pasta until it is a half minute shy of tender; reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before you drain.12 min
2. While the pasta cooks, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, sprinkle in 2 tablespoons flour, and whisk until it smells nutty and has cooked for one minute.2 min
3. Pour in 1 1/2 cups milk slowly while whisking, then continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken around the edges, about three minutes.3 min
4. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups shredded Tillamook cheddar until it is completely melted and smooth; taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the hot drained pasta to the sauce, toss to coat, and if it seems thick add a splash of the reserved pasta water until it coats the pasta in a silken layer.

Note Swap the cheddar for Gruyere or sharp white cheddar if you have it. Leftovers keep three days in the fridge and reheat gently with a splash of milk. Serve this with a small green salad dressed in vinegar and a grind of pepper to cut the richness, or add steamed broccoli to the pasta itself.