Comfort foods

Rainy... rainy days, perfect time for comfort foods, thick soups and warm desserts.

What exactly are comfort foods here in Trinidad and Tobago? We are all familiar with the ubiquitous "mac and cheese" from the USA, which translates to macaroni pie, here at home.

We have been enjoying this local favourite yet never wondered about its origins, according to culinary historians during post-Emancipation days, many landowners kept their in-house African cooks under employment. During that time, dried macaroni products were one of the newer foods that became available and also became a great favourite.

The cooks boiled the macaroni in half water and milk, until very tender, drained it, then layered the macaroni with generous lashings of butter and cheese, placed the baking dish into a cast iron kettle and baked it on an open hearth, the result was a silky, tender and rich pie. Fast forward to today, we use the same ingredients but in a different way. Macaroni is boiled, mixed with milk and sometimes eggs and cheese, and baked until it comes together to the pie, we all have grown to love.

Everybody has their own version of macaroni pie, stick macaroni is a must for the traditional pie, cheese, butter and milk as well. Variations occur with the addition of eggs, corn, carrots, peppers and even meat. Whatever the version, it will always be in the class of our Trini comfort food. Here are some of my favourites for you to enjoy on these rainy days.

Macaroni pie

1 lb macaroni

2 eggs

2 cups evaporated milk

1 lb grated cheddar cheese

Salt

Topping

½ cup cracker crumbs

¼ cup butter

¼ cup grated cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup chopped parsley

Break macaroni into 2-inch pieces.

Boil macaroni in plenty of water, drain.

Beat eggs with milk, stir in cheese add macaroni and combine.

Combine all the ingredients for the topping using your hands to incorporate the ingredients well.

Pour macaroni mixture in a greased 12-inch glass baking dish, sprinkle with crumb mixture.

Bake for 30minutes until set, golden and crusty at the top.

Mexican tamale pie

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic

2 lbs ground beef, lean or chicken

3 tbs chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 14-oz can whole tomatoes, finely-chopped

1 14-oz tin red beans

½ cup chopped green olives

4 stalks chadon beni, chopped

Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1½ tbs sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup chopped chadon beni

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

1⅓ cup milk

1 egg

4 tbs melted butter

4 ozs grated cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a sauté pan, make the filling, heat oil add onion and garlic, add beef and brown thoroughly, add chilli, cumin and all spice, season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Add tomatoes, beans and olives, combine and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add chadon beni and remove.

Make the topping

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Beat egg with milk and add melted butter. Add to dry ingredients, add cheese and chadon beni.

Stir well, the batter may be a little soft but will firm up quickly as the cornmeal tends to absorb a lot of liquid. If batter seems too dry, add a little milk.

The consistency should be like a muffin batter.

Grease a casserole dish, medium sized.

Spread some batter onto the bottom.

Spoon the beef mixture onto this then top with the remaining corn batter.

Bake for 30 minutes until risen and golden.

Papaya and pineapple crumble

1 3-lb pineapple, peeled and cut into one inch pieces

1 3-lb papaya half ripe, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces

1 cup brown sugar

3 cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

1 cup water

dash aromatic bitters

Place all the above ingredients into a medium sized saucepan, cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick, do not overcook the fruit, remove.

Crumble

3 cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cups butter

½ cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter with flour until mixture resembles fine crumbs, add sugar and toss.

Place fruit into an ovenproof dish, spoon crumble on top and cover fruit, sprinkle with a little brown sugar.

Bake until hot and bubbly, 35 mins.

Serves 10 to 12