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Timbale of Macaroni

A baked dish of macaroni layered with butter, cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, and seasoned meat.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Timbale of Macaroni

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Break the macaroni into very short lengths and cook until slightly overdone.

  2. Drain and dress the macaroni with butter and grated cheese.

  3. Mix in 1-2 eggs based on the quantity of macaroni.

Assemble the timbale

  1. Butter a plain mold and coat it with bread crumbs.

  2. Fill the mold with macaroni, pressing it down and leaving a hollow in the center.

  3. Fill the hollow with a well-flavored mince of meat, poultry, or game.

  4. Top with more macaroni, pressing it down again.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.

  2. Turn out and serve.

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. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  2. Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,130 recipes

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

  3. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Bread + meattop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,924 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Small macaroni
Forms the firm structure of the timbale once cooked and pressed together.
Eggs
Bind the macaroni and cheese so the timbale sets and holds its shape when turned out.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the macaroni coat evenly with flavor.
Grated cheese
Adds savory flavor and helps bind the macaroni as it sets.
Minced meat, poultry, or game
Provides the savory filling at the center that contrasts with the macaroni.

The step that matters

Pressing the macaroni into the mold. Pressing the macaroni firmly packs the pieces together so the timbale holds its shape when turned out. Loose packing can cause it to crumble or collapse once baked and released from the mold.

“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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