How Do You Like Your Macaroni – Cheesy, Stir Fried or In a Salad? (With THREE Guyanese Recipes)

Macaroni is a top choice meal for parties, celebrations and other events in Guyana. At any gathering, you can be sure to find a slice of Baked Macaroni and Cheese or a toss of Macaroni Salad as a side dish accompanying fried rice and/or chowmein. If you’re a cheese lover, you’ll love the Macaroni and Cheese dish. While these are two of the fanciest way to cook the pasta, you can try a simple stir-fried Macaroni dish. Some experimenting with the Macaroni pasta led to the creation of the mouthwatering Guyanese Stir Fried Macaroni with Chicken. The Macaroni Salad is a more recent dish, typically made with lots of veggies but just as delicious!

Macaroni Elbows -Photo By Popo le Chien – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49730965

What is Macaroni?

Macaronis are tube-shaped noodles made from pasta. Unlike Chowmein noodles, the macaroni is short and typically curved. These tubular bites of pasta are shaped like elbows, hence the name “Elbows”. Apart from Chowmein, this is one of the most common pasta in Guyana. Elbow pasta is used to make scrumptious dishes like Macaroni and Cheese, Macaroni Salad and the original stir-fried Guyanese Macaroni and Chicken.

Interesting Tip

• The Macaroni and Cheese dish is believed to be introduced to Guyana by the British while the Macaroni Salad was invented in the United States of America.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese – Guyanese Style

Ingredients

• Butter- 1/2 lbs
• Cheese – 1lb grated
• Flour – 2 1/2 full tablespoons
• Macaroni noodles – 1lb
• Milk – 2 pints
• Mustard – 2 teaspoons
• Wiri wiri peppers.

Optional: 1 small onion, eggs (6), parsley for garnish

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly grease baking pans with butter
3. Boil pasta noodles in water until soft.
4. Add a bit of salt, drain and set aside.

Roux sauce:

1.  Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
2. Stir in flour and let cook for a few minutes.
3. Add all the milk, and stir continuously until mixture is smooth and thick.
4. Add your eggs if you chose to add them to your dish.
5. Remove pan from the stove.
6. Add remaining ingredients and mix pasta.
7. Pour macaroni mixture into pan.
8. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and garnish with peppers and parsley.
9. Pop in the oven at 400 degrees until golden brown. 40 – 50 mins.

Macaroni and Cheese Salad – Guyanese Style

Ingredients

• 12 oz. elbow noodles
• 1/2 large red, yellow and green bell peppers each
• 4 stems celery stalk
• carrot
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Method

1. Wash and finely chop peppers and celery stalks.
2. Grate or thinly slice carrots and set aside.
3. Boil macaroni noodles until soft.
4. Strain noodles.
5. When noodles are warm add all ingredients and mix well.
6. Eat up!

Macaroni Salad -Photo By J Doll – Imported from 500px (archived version) by the Archive Team. (detail page), CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73879108

Macaroni and Chicken – Guyanese Style

Ingredients

• 1 pk. approx. 900g elbow noodles
• 6-8 chicken legs de-boned
• hot pepper (optional)
• 5 stems eschalot
• 2 stems celery
• bell peppers, mixed colours
• chicken seasoning
• ½ onion

Ingredients (For Chicken)

• 2 cloves garlic and 1 stem celery, ground
• 2 tbsp cassareep
• 1 pepper (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp chicken seasoning
• black pepper to taste

Method

1. Cut chicken legs into small pieces and wash.
2. Season the chicken with 2 tbsp. cassareep, 1 tbsp. chicken season, black pepper, salt, ground celery, garlic and pepper.
3. Mix together and set aside.
4. Boil Macaroni pasta with a pinch of salt.
5. Chop and set aside celery, onion, eschalot and peppers.
6. When pasta is boiled, strain and leave to cool.
7. Heat oil in a pan.
8. When hot, add the seasoned chicken and fry until brown.
9. Add onions, eschalot, peppers and celery and fry for a bit.
10. Add boiled Macaroni and cook for a few minutes.
11. Remove from heat and add chicken seasoning, cassareep and mix well.
12. Enjoy your meal!

Macaroni in Guyana

Like most food introduced to our country, Guyanese have added their own spin to the Macaroni.  Macaroni is a great option for a hearty lunch or dinner. Combined with other dishes, Macaroni produces a dynamic meal. There are several ways to prepare Macaroni pasta including adding cheese and baking or preparing a delicious stir-fry with bits of chicken. If you’re looking for a healthy twist to your Macaroni, consider the Macaroni Salad but remember to go light on the mayo!

Article References

• https://www.thingsguyana.com/cooking-chicken-chow-mein-guyanese-style/
• https://notafrica.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/guyanese-macaroni-and-cheese/
• http://guyanachronicle.com/2017/11/19/homemade-macaroni-and-cheese

Last Updated: 2020-06-27