I always grew up calling this mixture of pasta, milk and cheese ‘Macaroni Pie’ rather than ‘mac n cheese’ as it’s more commonly known. I still think that the distinction between the two is important: mac cheeses tend to be a gooey, non-conforming, loose pasta dish, whereas macaroni pie due to the egg content is firmer and can be sliced in some cases.
The tradition of macaroni pie is more than present in the Deep South of the USA, it’s almost a joke to refer to mac ‘n cheese in the same breath as collard greens and candied yams.
As one of four we would fight for the crunchy corners of the pie as it rested in the glass pirex dish. I loved watching the oil and air race there way through the golden honey-comb-tunnels to the top. My mum would make several macaroni pies every week, not just for us but for friends and neighbours. As its popularity grew, she would experiment with different ingredients to enhance the flavour and texture: mayonnaise or cream was added for creaminess, breadcrumbs were mixed with the cheese for a crunchy crust. The base of the pie was always fried onion, garlic, fresh thyme with a little pepper sauce.
For this recipe, I exchanged the pepper sauce for peppadew peppers. I think I first came across this pepper whilst eating a pizza over a year a go; it’s not too dissimilar from a jalapeno pepper, but is more versatile which means it can be added to sauces, pestos or stuffed soft fillings.
Mac ‘n’ Cheese: where there is always room to reinvent the wheel. Add your own flavour and see what happens!
INGREDIENTS ‘Red’ sauce 2 cups dry macaroni 12 Mild Peppadew peppers ½ medium white onion 3-4 garlic cloves 4- 5 fresh thyme sprigs ½ vegetable stock jelly Salt and pepper to taste ‘White’ Sauce 2 heaps tbsp. all purpose flour 2 tbsp unsalted butter 2 cups whole milk ½ tsp nutmeg 2 cups grated mature cheese ‘Custard’ (optional) 1 large egg and dash of milk, whisked together Topping 2 cups panko bread-crumbs 1/2 cup mature cheese 2-3 slices of Mild Peppadew peppers METHOD:Baked Peppadew Mac 'n' Cheese
