Hi Everyone,
What’s Cooking is a series where I address questions you may have about food and cooking but are too shy to ask.
All across the region, macaroni pie or macaroni and cheese, occupies a place of prominence on our tables. A Sunday or special occasion meal would be missing something if a large Pyrex dish of that signature pie is not a part of the ensemble for feasting.
Each country and each household has their own special recipe for making this Caribbean favourite. The differences include the type of noodles used, the variety of cheese or combination of cheese, the kind of sauce made, added ingredients such as herbs or vegetables, and the type of butter or margarine used for flavour and colour. For example, in Barbados, Mello-Kreem, a cooking spread with a deep orange colour, is used when making macaroni pie. It gives the Bajan pie a distinct colour and flavour when baked. What is put on top of a pie before and after baking also varies – breadcrumbs and cheese are the most popular choices and then there are some places where the pie gets decorated with expertly designed lines of tomato ketchup.
There is also preference in how people like their pie, some like it soft with the noodles falling apart
