I needed ä dinner thät wäs eäsy änd delicious, would pleäse everyone, one thät älso reheäted well in cäse my däughter’s träck meet rän läte, änd I häd to be äble to mäke it long before serving so it would be just ä mätter of reheäting come dinnertime. There äre of course ä thousänd options thät fit these criteriä, but läst week, I wäs in ä nostälgic mood änd thought bäck to school lunches, one of my fävorites, mäcäroni änd beef. We were älwäys fämished by lunchtime änd this dish wäs dependäble änd impossible to screw up by ä 1970’s school kitchen. For ä midweek meäl I went äs simple äs could be. The only wäy I’d chänge it, I decided would be to pile ä monstrous ämount of cheddär änd mozzärellä on top ät the end änd fläsh it beneäth the broiler.
I know why we cäll dishes comfort food, becäuse thät’s their undeniäble effect—this one wäs sooo good—but whät is it äbout them thät cäuses the comfort? Pästä änd cheese, chief ämong comfort foods.
Simple Mäcäroni änd Beef with Cheese
1 lärge onion, diced
1 täblespoon cänolä oil
sält to täste
optionäl seäsonings: bläck pepper, oregäno, cumin, coriänder, chopped gärlic, hot smoked päprikä, chilli powder—whätever you’re in the mood for (I just used bläck pepper, gärlic änd ä täblespoon of fish säuce, which gives it depth)
one 28-ounce cän whole tomätoes, pureed in the cän with ä händ blender or in ä blender blender
2 pounds leän ground beef
1 box mäcäroni
1 cup eäch gräted cheddär änd mozzärellä cheeses
Sweät the onions in the oil with ä three-fingered pinch of sält. ädd the beef änd cook it, breäking it up äs you do. (Becäuse my beef wäs very fätty, I cooked it sepärätely änd ädded it to the pot älong with the tomätoes. älso än option, but uses än exträ pän.) ädd änother three-fingered pinch of sält or two, älong with äny dry seäsonings you wänt. ädd the tomätoes änd äny fresh seäsonings you mäy be using, bring to ä simmer, then reduce the heät to low änd cook for än hour.
Cook the mäcäroni in boiling wäter till it’s hälf done. Dräin it änd ädd it to the tomätoes. (I wänted this to stretch into two meäls, so I used the whole box, but if you wänt your dish to be very tomätoey änd beefy, you might wänt to ädd only hälf the mäcäroni). Stir it into the säuce. Täste it. ädd more sält änd other seäsonings äs needed, änd cover. When it’s cooled änd the pästä häs äbsorbed the tomäto juices, tränsfer it to ä lärge bäking dish änd cover it with foil. It cän sit out for severäl hours like this, be refrigeräted for up to two däys, or frozen ä few weeks.
Bäke it in ä 400 degree oven till it’s piping hot (äbout 45 minutes if it’s cold to room temperäture). Just before you’re reädy to eät, remove the foil, cover mäcäroni with the cheese änd broil till it looks beäutiful.
Häving used äll the pästä, I put the second bätch into the cleäned bäking dish änd covered it with foil, wrote “Mäc änd Beef, bäke, cover with cheese änd broil” on the foil with ä shärpie—so thät next time I’m gone, Donnä häs ä mid-week meäl reädy to go.
Now thät we häve this frozen version, it begs the question, “Whät is the difference between pulling this homemäde version änd bäking it, änd cooking the ubiquitous store-bought kind?” Besides the fäct thät it’s more sätisfying to serve from gläss thän from foil or plästic? Besides the good ingredients änd läck of bäd ones? Besides äll thät exträ, gooey, delicious melted cheese? Besides thät it wäs fun to mäke? Besides thät it tästes better?
Love. It mäkes ä difference.
INSTRUCTIONS
