In Finland makaronilaatikko (macaroni casserole) is one of the most popular home made traditional dishes. It was mostly festive food in Finland until the 1950s and it still is one of the casseroles to make during Christmas.
Originally the Finnish macaroni casserole was not made with meat but nowadays it is most commonly made with minced meat. As a substitute you can also add fish, chicken or meat strips instead of minced meat. Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are additional ingredients as well. In the recipes below there is one casserole made from macaroni and minced meat, one with meat and broccoli and one with meat and cauliflower.
Macaroni casserole with minced meat:
PORTION: 6 servings
TIME TO MAKE: preparation 20 minutes, baking 1-1½ hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 400 gr macaroni
- 400 gr minced meat (beef and pork)
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 eggs
- about 5dl milk
- salt, white pepper, paprika powder
- butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
Cook macaroni in slightly salted water.
Fry minced meat with finely cut onion. Season with salt, white pepper and paprika powder.
I recommend using some more salt than usually, since the saltiness gets milder when baking the casserole.
Mix macaroni and meat together.
Oil a suitable sized oven pot and pour the mixture into it.
Whisk two eggs with milk. Season with some white pepper and salt if needed. Pour the milk mix into the pot – just enough to cover the macaroni. If 5 dl isn’t enough, add some more plain milk.
Put some pats of butter on top of the mix and bake in the oven for about one hour or until the surface is nicely brown.
Macaroni casserole with minced meat and broccoli:
PORTION: 6 servings
TIME TO MAKE: preparation 20 minutes, baking 1-1½ hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 400 gr macaroni
- 400 gr minced meat (beef and pork)
- 1 yellow onion
- broccoli to your taste
- 2 eggs
- about 5dl milk
- salt, white pepper, paprika powder
- butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
Cook macaroni in slightly salted water.
Fry minced meat with finely cut onion. Season with salt, white pepper and paprika powder.
I recommend using some more salt than usually, since the saltiness gets milder when baking the casserole.
Cut broccoli in small florets.
Mix macaroni, broccoli and meat together.
Oil a suitable sized oven pot and pour the mixture into it.
Whisk two eggs with milk. Season with some white pepper and salt if needed. Pour the milk mix into the pot – just enough to cover the macaroni. If 5 dl isn’t enough, add some more plain milk..
Put some pats of butter on top of the mix and bake in the oven for about one hour or until the surface is nicely brown.
Macaroni casserole with minced meat and cauliflower:
The casserole in this recipe is smaller than the previous ones because I have used some leftover cauliflower chutney in it. You can make the chutney purposely for this casserole to give it a special aroma. When making casserole from fresh cauliflower use the recipe for macaroni casserole with minced meat and broccoli.
The recipe for cauliflower chutney can be found here.
PORTION: 3 servings
TIME TO MAKE: preparation 20 minutes, baking 1-1½ hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 200 gr macaroni
- 200 gr minced meat (beef and pork)
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 dl of cauliflower chutney
- 3 dl cream
- salt, white pepper, paprika powder
- butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
Cook macaroni in slightly salted water.
Fry minced meat with finely cut onion. Season with salt, white pepper and paprika powder.
I recommend using some more salt than usually, since the saltiness gets milder when baking the casserole.
Mix macaroni and meat together. Add cauliflower chutney and cream. Mix well.
Oil a suitable sized oven pot and pour the mixture into it.
Put some pats of butter on top of the mix and bake in the oven for about one hour or until the surface is nicely brown.
Tags: macaroni casserole minced meat cauliflower broccoli Finnish cuisine
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