No.32 Homemade Macaroni Pies

Scotland is the only country where its first minister on the orders of her dad would stand up in parliament to give support to a campaign to keep a pie on a bakeries menu. In reality Scotland has a love affair with the macaroni pie. Some chip shops will even batter and deep fry these beauties.

My mission was to find a way to make these at home and make them more presentable as an afternoon tea accompaniment. There are two keys to this and the first is a really good macaroni – for this you need a good cheese. Secondly, traditionally these pies are made in thin dry shells of pastries that can take days to be ready. This is not the most practical so instead I would opt for a rich hot water crust.

Makes: 12 pies      Time: 1hour and 15 minutes

Hot Water Crust

40g of butter

40g of lard

220g of plain flour

100ml of water

1 egg

half a teaspoon of salt

Macaroni

200g of elbow macaroni

300ml of whole milk

150g of strong cheddar

half a teaspoon of mustard

half a teaspoon of a yeast extract e.g. marmite

pinch of nutmeg

1 tablespoon of butter and plain flour

1. Make the Macaroni by cooking the macaroni to pack instructions. Make a roux with a tablespoon of flour and the butter in a milk pan till they combine and create a glossy ball.
2. Add the milk to the milk pan and whisk gently. Shred 100g of the cheddar and add to the milk with mustard, yeast extract and nutmeg. Whisk until combined.
3. Drain macaroni once cooked and add the cheese sauce to the macaroni and mix well. Leave to cool whilst you make the pastry.
4. Melt the lard and butter in a pan with 100ml of water till just simmering.
5. Then add the salt and egg to the flour and mix. Add the fat and water liquid and quickly combine with the flour mixture.
6. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes until not too hot to handle. Roll out as thinly as you can and cut into rounds and place into the moulds of a cupcake tin. Here you can do patch work pastry using the scrapes to ensure the mould is completely covered. Place in a freezer for 15 minutes.
7. Once the time in the freezer is complete fill the moulds with the macaroni and shred the remaining cheese on top.
8. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-25 till the tops are slightly brown.