Mince and Cheesy Pasta
Aperçu
Macaroni and seasoned beef mince under a white sauce and melted cheese. It is a pasta bake in the international sense, and no country is claimed for it, though the seasoning gives away where this particular version was written. The contributor is South African, and the spicing shows it. Turmeric and curry powder in a beef mince destined for a cheese sauce is not an Italian or an American habit; it is the same instinct that puts curry powder in a South African bobotie or a Durban mince. Worcestershire sauce alongside it is a British inheritance that took firm hold in South African home cooking. The dish itself belongs to nobody in particular, variations of pasta baked with meat and cheese exist everywhere, but the flavouring is specific. The white sauce is the one thing the source leaves you to work out for yourself: it is listed as an ingredient with no quantity and no method. A standard béchamel is what is meant, and the quantity below is a working assumption rather than something taken from the source. The source's description also mentions a crisp breadcrumb topping and a sweet cheese sauce. Neither breadcrumbs nor sugar appears anywhere in the recipe.
Ingrédients
Préparation
- 1
Cook the macaroni in well-salted water until just short of tender, then drain. It will soften further under the sauce.
- 2Make a béchamel
melt about 50g butter, work in 50g flour and cook the paste briefly, then whisk in 500ml milk a little at a time until smooth and thickened. Season and set aside.
- 3
Heat oil in a large casserole and cook the onions until translucent.
- 4
Put in the beef mince and brown it for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking up any lumps.
- 5
Season with the tomato paste, turmeric, curry powder, paprika, mixed herbs and Worcestershire sauce, and mix through. Cover the pot for 2 minutes.
- 6
Fold the drained macaroni through the mince.
- 7
Pour the white sauce over the top and scatter both cheeses over it.
- 8
Cover with a lid until the cheese has melted, or finish it under a hot grill for a browned top.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Cedukwazi Nhlengethwa- Undercook the pasta slightly. It carries on softening in the sauce, and fully cooked macaroni turns to mush.
- Brown the mince properly rather than just cooking it through. Colour is where most of the flavour in a dish this plain comes from.
- The curry powder and turmeric are what make this version South African rather than generic. Leaving them out gives you an ordinary pasta bake.
- The white sauce quantity is not given in the source. About 500ml of béchamel suits this amount of pasta and mince.
- A spell under the grill gives a browned top that the lid-on method does not, and takes only a couple of minutes.
- Mozzarella melts and cheddar tastes. Using both is the point, so do not swap to one or the other.
Questions fréquentes
Where is this dish from?
Nowhere in particular, pasta baked with meat and cheese exists in some form across Europe, the Americas and beyond. What is identifiable here is the seasoning. Turmeric and curry powder in beef mince, alongside Worcestershire sauce, is a distinctly South African home-cooking habit, shared with dishes like bobotie and Durban-style mince. The contributor is South African, and the recipe reads that way even though the format is international.
What white sauce should I use?
A standard béchamel: butter and flour cooked into a paste, then whisked with milk until smooth and thickened. The source lists white sauce as an ingredient without a quantity or a method, so about 500ml is a working figure for this amount of pasta and mince rather than something taken from the recipe. Season it well, an under-seasoned béchamel makes the whole dish taste flat.
Can I use a different meat?
Yes. The source's own description mentions turkey mince as an alternative even though the ingredient list specifies beef, and minced chicken thigh works too. Leaner meats give a drier result, so keep a little more of the sauce back for them. Lamb mince suits the curry seasoning particularly well. Whatever you use, brown it properly rather than steaming it in its own liquid.
What happened to the breadcrumb topping?
The source's opening description promises a crisp breadcrumb crust and a sweet cheese sauce, and neither breadcrumbs nor sugar appears anywhere in its ingredients or method. The recipe here follows what is actually written rather than what is described. If you want the crust, scatter buttered breadcrumbs over the cheese before it goes under the grill, it is a genuine improvement, just not part of this recipe.
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