PIE! Quick! What’s the first thing you think of?

If you’re a true Bajan, your mind instantly goes to macaroni pie, and who could blame you? Certainly not me! Macaroni pie is a staple right up there with rice and peas, especially for Sunday food and it can incite a more intense debate than politicians snapping at each other around election time when you ask: “gravy on the pie?”

Pie is just near and dear to all of our hearts, and if you’re like me it’s an absolute shock when we see pie being made “wrong”. What’s “wrong” with other pies Hadi? That’s the thing, I can’t truly give you the answer because every household has a different recipe for a “true” Bajan pie, whether that includes the use of eggs, mayo, yogurt or a mix of all three (hey it probably happens in some kitchen). Some like to mix everything along with the pasta, while others like myself prefer to make the sauce separately, but either way produces great and not so great results. I, myself was guilty of being a total pie snob with anything I deemed an indiscretion to the art of a true Bajan pie; however this did not prepare me for my first community cooking experience…

There I was standing with two other Bajans excited at the prospect of pie, when we watched, stunned to silence as a friend mixed the milk and cheese to make the pie…in an actual BLENDER.

My facial expressions usually give me away, and this time, it was clear that the only word that could describe my conflicting emotions at that point was…FLABBERGASTED!

The eggs, mayo, and yogurt are looking pretty good to you too now, huh?

Besides those differences, I think I’ve narrowed down some characteristics that every Bajan pie should have:

– Macaroni (elbows are now okay too) – It’s almost like a rite of passage to sit with your mom on Sunday mornings before or after church breaking macaroni sticks (and sneaking some to eat) to form the iconic uneven look of macaroni pie noodles. Now it’s based on tradition but in earlier days, macaroni pasta was the cheapest pasta available to our Bajan great grand-parents and was also chosen out of necessity.

– Cheddar cheese – whether vegetarian, or regular, cheddar is the go to cheese for all macaroni pies.

– Mustard and ketchup – condiments that make a hot dog worth eating, and also a pie worth salivating over. Plus if it’s “pale” (that means white or yellow), most Bajans will automatically judge it as a tasteless pie…without ever picking up a fork!!! An orange pie, is a good pie (maybe I should get this cross stitched as a placemat).

– A topping! For a lot of people, a nice topping of melted cheese on top or a crust to give an element of crunch is also a must to grade any worthy macaroni pie.

Lastly, it should be baked to perfection.

Macaroni Pie

Hadi PIE! Quick! What’s the first thing you think of? If you’re a true Bajan, your mind instantly goes to macaroni pie, and who could blame you? Certainly not me! Macaroni pie is a staple right up there with rice and... Recipes macaroni pie, side dish, family, cheese, cheesy, macaroni European Print This

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes 45 minutes

Nutrition facts: 350 calories 16.5 grams fat

Rating: 4.0/5

( 5 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 large onion, finely chopped (Although I personally like finding chunks of onion in mine)
• 1 small sweet/bell pepper, finely chopped I consider this MANDATORY
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, optional
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup Water
• 6 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 - 2 tbsp. mustard
• 2 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp all purpose seasoning No MSG
• 1/4 cup chicken/vegetable stock OR one chicken/vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 tsp Bajan hot sauce, optional
• 1 tsp green seasoning, optional
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheddar cheese Based on your cheese tolerance
• salt to taste
• 300 g macaroni pasta Broken into pieces, I usually prefer 3 to 4 times
• nonstick cooking spray
• grated cheese, optional topping*
• grated cheese and crumbled corn flakes blended together for a crunch, optional topping*

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350⁰ and add salted water in a large pot to boil on the stove.
In a medium size pot, heat the butter on medium-high heat until it melts and slowly whisk in the flour to form a roux.
When the butter and flour mixture has cooked a bit, add the onion, sweet pepper, garlic, parsley and pepper, and give a quick stir making sure that the mixture is not burning at the bottom.
Quickly add your condiments and seasonings, all the while mildly whisking. Note if the mixture is bubbling too quickly, lower the temperature of the stove to have better control of your sauce (which trust me does not taste good when it’s burnt).
In your large pot with the boiling water, add your broken macaroni sticks.
Taste your sauce thus far to determine the seasoned factor of the pie. DO NOT ADD SALT. Remember cheese has not been added yet and any liberal amount of salt may render your pie inedible.
If you’re satisfied with the seasoned taste, slowly add the cheese giving each bit time to be melted and absorbed in the sauce. If you add too much too quickly, you run the chance of separating the sauce by ineffective stirring and not being able to incorporate the new additions fast enough. Turn off the stove.
Cook pasta until al dente, strain and leave in pot. Add cheese sauce to pasta and stir until all is well covered. Taste a noodle with the sauce to test the salt factor. If the whole noodle experience seems bland to you, here is where you would adjust your salt for baking.
Spray a casserole dish/large square pan with nonstick cooking oil, and carefully spoon the cheesy pasta in the dish. Tap down any macaroni edges that may be sticking up, because they will burn in the oven.
Once that is done, cover your dish with foil and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove the foil from the pie and bake for an additional 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool to set (so it will keep its shape).
Serve (with or without gravy).