Christmas in Barbados is all about the two big f’s! Food & Family ! Every year, my family, like many other on the island gather around to enjoy each others company and eat and drink to their hearts content! One of the most important dishes to any Christmas lunch is a good macaroni pie! A bajan macaroni pie really isn’t like anything you’ll find in a oversees! Check out the recipe my family uses below! Let me know in the comments down below if you use it!
Ingredients
- 8 oz macaroni -the best option is usually the long tube type but any type of will work
- One tablespoon butter or margarine
- 2 cups of New Zealand anchor cheddar cheese,(please don't use any other type of cheese!!) grated ( feel free to add more or less based on how cheesy you would like your dish to be)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 medium-sized onion chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon of mustard
- 3 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cap full of Bajan pepper sauce
- 1 sweet pepper mixed
Topping
- finely grated Parmesan and cheddar cheese
- fine breadcrumbs
Directions
1. Bring water to the boil and add the broken up macaroni o salt. Cook it uncovered until it is just tender (about 8 minutes).
2. Preheat a moderately hot oven 350F, 180C.
3. Drain the macaroni thoroughly, leave it in the strainer while you make a roux in the hot saucepan. To do this add butter and a sprinkle of flour and mix.
4. Now put the macaroni back into the saucepan and mix. Turn on stove too low.
5. Add the cheese in gradually and keep mixing.
6. Whisk the egg until fluffy and add the milk, onion, white pepper, salt, pepper sauce, ketchup, and mustard.
Pour in with the macaroni and mix.
7. Place in a greased dish. Top the dish with the mix of cheese and breadcrumbs.
8. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30-45 minutes depending on the depth of the dish.
P.s. once you get to the stage of pouring it into the pan you can feel free to eat it! It’s totally cooked at this stage and this is a good point to make sure you’ve included enough seasoning.