Makaroonilaatikko - Traditional Finnish Macaroni Bake

As a kid Makaroonilaatikko was my ABSOLUTE favourite! My Mum used to whip up some beauties but this dish felt like home. I used to love the crunchy macaroni combined with tomato sauce, just delicious.

Makaroonilaatikko is a macaroni and mince based pasta bake. It is extremely simple, and when you read the ingredients you may wonder how on earth it can taste THAT good with so few items. Who knows, but I do know you will love it. I don't eat much (if any) meat these days so I made a wee section without mince just for me, although I do think the mince is an essential part of this dish. The egg and milk combination kind of binds the dish together, almost like a custard texture. Hard to explain, you will just have to try it!

Ingredients:

250g elbow pasta

250g mince

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion

1 cup milk

4 eggs

Breadcrumbs

3-4 knobs of butter

Salt & pepper

Method:

Brown mince in oil with diced onion. Boil pasta until ‘almost’ el dente. Drain pasta, then place half into the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour the mince and onion mixture over the pasta, then pour the remaining pasta on top.

Whisk eggs and milk together, add salt and pepper to taste and pour mixture evenly over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and add a few knobs of butter. Bake in oven at 225^oC until golden brown. You want it to be crunchy on top.

When eating, lashings of tomato sauce absolutely essential!

** You can add grated cheese on top if you like, I personally prefer it without but it can be added. These measurements make approx 5-6 small servings, increase the quantities of mince, pasta and milk to make a larger dish.