A Sunday lunch without macaroni pie? Perish the thought, most would say. But what about a slight (and slightly healthier) deviation from the much-loved Trini staple?
Ingredients
- 1 pack spaghetti
- 2 cartons evaporated milk
- 1 cartons of heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 block of cheddar cheese
- 1 bag of mixed cheeses
- 1 bag of spinach
- 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard
- 2 onions
- 3 pimentos
- 2 gloves garlic
Method
- Cooking the pasta and making the spinach
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 Tbsp of salt and cook the pasta, stirring occasionally. While the pasta is boiling, sauté the spinach in a saucepan with onions & garlic for about 10 minutes. Season with salt & black pepper. Set aside.
Once cooked, drain the pasta, then pour into a big bowl. Add a small cube of butter and toss until the butter is completely melted.
Preheat oven 350 degrees. - Making milk mixture
In a blender, mix evaporated milk, chopped onion, eggs, mustard and chopped pimentos.. Make a roux (optional but recommended as the milk mixture coats the pasta nicely). In a pot, melt 1 Tbsp of butter, then add a Tbsp of flour and stir continuously until flour and butter come together. Add milk, mix and stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Complete by adding 2 Tbsps of grated cheese. When cheese is melted in the mixture take off the fire. - Mix ingredients
Add the roux, milk mixture and sauteed spinach to the bowl of pasta. Mix thoroughly to ensure the milk and spinach are distributed well throughout the pasta. Mixture should be moist. Add additional evaporated milk if needed. - Assemble
In a baking dish, pour in half of the pasta mixture. Sprinkle grated cheeses onto the top evenly. Add remaining pasta and sprinkle the remainder of the cheese to cover the entire top of the pasta.
- Bake
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Allow pie to cool on counter before cutting into it.
Enjoy!
Variations: Use sautéed portobella mushrooms along with the spinach.
