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Macaroni a L'italienne

A macaroni dish with butter, onion, Gruyère, Parmesan, cream, nutmeg, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Macaroni a L'italienne

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Cook the macaroni

  1. Boil water in a pot and add macaroni, butter, salt, and the onion studded with cloves.

  2. Cook for 45 minutes, then drain the macaroni.

Finish and serve

  1. In a saucepan, combine the macaroni with a bit of butter, Gruyère, Parmesan, nutmeg, black pepper, and cream.

  2. Sauté everything together until the macaroni is stretchy.

  3. Serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the bulk of the dish and carries the sauce.
Gruyère cheese
Melts into a smooth, stretchy sauce that binds the pasta.
Parmesan cheese
Adds a sharp, salty flavour and helps the sauce thicken as it melts.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness so the cheese melts into a creamy coating.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, helping the cheese melt smoothly.

The step that matters

Sauté until the macaroni is stretchy. Cheese sauces can turn grainy or oily if overheated. Gentle heat lets the cheese melt and emulsify with the cream, so the coating stays smooth.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, clove, cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, pepper, cream):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, clove, cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, pepper, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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