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Macaroni in Scallop Shells

A baked macaroni dish served in scallop shells, topped with cheese and clarified butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parmesan cheese and cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Macaroni in Scallop Shells

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the sauce

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.

  2. Add the gravy, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the saucepan and mix well.

Prepare and fill

  1. Boil the macaroni for 25 to 30 minutes, then drain and cut into half-inch lengths.

  2. Toss the macaroni with the sauce and Parmesan cheese over low heat until well combined.

  3. Fill scallop shells or any fancy shapes with the mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Top with more grated cheese and drizzle with clarified butter or sardine butter.

  2. Bake at 400°F (200°C) until browned or place under the broiler to brown.

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. Parmesan cheese + cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

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

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

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

  3. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

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

  5. Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the bulk and body of the dish, holding the sauce in each shell.
Butter
Enriches the sauce with fat, adding richness and a silky mouthfeel.
Flour
Thickens the butter into a roux that gives the sauce body.
Rich gravy
Adds savoury depth and liquid that thickens into the sauce.
Parmesan cheese
Melts into the sauce for savoury flavour and helps it bind to the pasta.

The step that matters

Browning the top. Baking or broiling until golden drives Maillard browning, which adds flavour and colour. Watch closely under the broiler, since the top can scorch quickly once it turns brown.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Parsleyfits about as well
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Basilfits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, pepper, parmesan cheese, cheese. 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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