First of all, I have to admit that this dish didn’t turn out the way I’d intended. I’d really wanted to bake a proper, traditional macaroni schotel, a Dutch-influenced Indonesian baked dish that’s like a firmer quiche. But I didn’t add enough flour, milk and eggs, and so instead of a firm cake, the entire thing disintegrated into disparate bits of macaroni.
However, the dish was so delicious, for all its errors, that I couldn’t resist sharing the recipe. In fact, it might have tasted even better than traditional macaroni schotel, especially if you’re not interested in the cake-y, flour-y bits. I might actually prefer this version, because the taste of the actual macaroni and meat comes out more strongly.
Whether it’s a traditional or my fluke deconstructed version, macaroni schotel is a great dish to serve at parties. It consists of macaroni cooked with ingredients of your choice – usually chicken, some vegetables, and maybe some cheese – and then baked in the oven, with a batter of flour, milk, and eggs.
This version, which is what I ate growing up, calls for minced or cubed lamb, and no cheese. This time, I’ve used minced lamb that’s been marinated in coriander powder, pepper and salt. The lamb is then fried with onions, garlic, chillies and tomatoes, and the pre-cooked macaroni is added to the mix. Lastly, the batter is added to the friend macaroni, and then baked in the oven.
Print
Deconstructed Macaroni and Lamb Schotel
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Beef & Lamb
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Indonesian
- Diet: Halal
Description
Macaroni schotel is a Dutch-influenced Indonesian dish, and is basically macaroni baked into a quiche-like cake. This recipe is for a deconstructed version, with minced lamb, capsicum and tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 200g minced lamb
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp black pepper powder
- ½ tsp white pepper powder
- 500g macaroni
- 2 medium-sized onions, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 red chilies, thinly sliced
- 3 medium-sized tomatoes, diced
- ½ capsicum
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- For the batter: 1 egg
- 100ml milk
- 3 tbsp wheat flour
- Pinch of white pepper powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Marinate the minced lamb with the coriander powder, black pepper powder, white pepper powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, prep the other ingredients and boil the macaroni until it’s cooked.
- Prepare the batter by adding the milk slowly to the flour, until smooth. Add the egg, pepper and salt, and beat. Set aside.
- In a pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Add the onions and fry until golden, about 10 min.
- Add the garlic, chillies, and bay leaf. Fry until fragrant, about 2 min.
- Add the minced lamb and fry until thoroughly cooked, about 5 min.
- Add the tomatoes and capsicum. Fry until they wilt and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 min.
- Add the macaroni and stir well.
- Turn off the heat. Add the flour/egg batter and mix well.
- Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 25 min at about 150 degrees Celsius.
- Ready to serve!
Notes
- You can adjust seasoning at step 8 above before proceeding with adding the batter.
Keywords: Experimental, Indo-Dutch cuisine, Spicy
