If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
-J.R.R Tolkien

15 November 2011


My ultimate comfort food: Mama's macaroni soup

I spotted a food challenge in Kulinaarimuruja blog with the subject being comfort food. I've never taken part to these challenges before but it's a great way to get inspiration so I might make this a habit! So, comfort food, I started thinking. I love cheese, I love mash, I love fish pie, pasta, soups and so on, but I think that the REAL comfort foods come from our childhoods, and they are certainly not fancy foods. So I'm sharing my mom's recipe for a milky, salty, thick macaroni soup, known as makaronivelli in Finnish. It was the whole family's favourite when I was little, and nobody elses mom could make it as nice as mine. Some added sugar to it, which was unheard of! This is how it's made...

Cook around 3 dl macaroni for a little longer than the packaging suggests. 
It's meant to be overcooked to be soft.
Drain the water away and add milk so that it covers the macaroni.
Simmer on low/medium heat, don't let the milk burn.
Mix 2 tbsp flour with a little milk, add in to thicken the soup.
Simmer until desired consitency is achieved.
Season with salt and a knob of butter, slice of nice rye bread on the side.

 
Mmmmmmmmmm!

The times I've made this myself are not many, as to be real comfort food it has to be made by my mom, which happens now about once a year. My British boyfriend absolutely hates the soup, and I think it's a forgotten dish already for most Finns as well. But I love it and I'm proud of it! Really enjoyed having some tonight actually...

2 comments:

  1. Hei, muistan makaronivellin lapsuudestani (mistä ei ole ihan kohtuuttomasti aikaa, vielä kaksikymppisillä sentään mennään). En ole ikinä sitä tehnyt itse, ei se varmaan millään maistuisi samalta kuin kotona. Mutta kiitos ohjeesta, pitää pistää talteen, jos vaikka siirtäisi tätä sitten seuraavalle sukupolvelle aikanaan.:)

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  2. Ole hyvä! Kiertoon vaan. Eihän siitä tosiaan ikinä saman makusta saa kuin äiti/mummo. Oikea voi on se salainen ainesosa kyllä tässäkin ruuassa...

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