Why it works: Parmesan cheese and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,322 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Macaroni Pie
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.
Prepare the crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line a pie dish with the pie crust and fill it with bran.
Bake until the crust is set, then remove the bran.
Make the filling
Cook the macaroni according to package instructions until al dente.
Mix the cooked macaroni with salt and pepper.
Bake and serve
Fill the pie crust with the macaroni and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake until the cheese is melted but not browned.
Serve immediately without a cover.
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.
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Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pie crust
- Forms the container that holds the filling and gives the pie its base and edge.
- Macaroni
- Provides the bulk and chewy texture of the filling.
- Parmesan cheese
- Melts into a savory, salty topping and adds rich flavor.
The step that matters
Bake the crust before filling. Pre-baking sets and dries the pastry so it stays crisp instead of turning soggy when the moist macaroni is added. Baking until set, then removing the weights, gives the base a firm structure.
“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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