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Baked Macaroni and Tomato

A baked casserole of macaroni, tomato sauce, butter, paprika, salt, onion juice, Parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,633 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Baked Macaroni and Tomato

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. Boil the macaroni in salted water for 20 minutes or until tender.

  2. Drain and rinse in cold water.

  3. Cut the macaroni into 1-inch lengths.

Layer the dish

  1. Butter a baking dish and cover the bottom with macaroni.

  2. Season with butter, paprika, salt, onion juice, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

  3. Layer with stewed tomatoes, then more macaroni, repeating until the dish is full.

  4. Cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top.

  5. Dot with butter.

Bake and brown

  1. Bake covered at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.

  2. Uncover 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. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Parmesan cheese + tomatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,490 recipes

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

  4. Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Onion + parmesan cheesetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,717 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 starchy body of the dish, holding its shape as it bakes in layers.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, carrying flavor through the layers and browning the top.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavor and helps the top brown and turn golden.
Stewed tomatoes
Provide moisture and acidity that soften the pasta as the dish bakes.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, browned topping that contrasts with the soft layers beneath.

The step that matters

Uncover to brown. Baking covered traps steam and keeps the top pale and moist. Removing the cover lets surface moisture evaporate, so the breadcrumbs and cheese can toast and brown.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

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