![]() This seems to be a running theme in terms of Scotland’s culinary history. So deep, in fact, that the pie’s roots are hard to trace. The pie was not saved, but traditions run deep. Over 1,000 people signed a petition to have the decision reversed, and Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Kezia Dugdale MP, brokered an unprecedented accord ( admittedly via Twitter) with her political rivals in support of it. Ironically, in a decision that attracted the attention of the Scottish Parliament, Greggs announced it would discontinue selling the pies in 2015, citing bad sales. “Soon after, macaroni pie became one most popular and still is.” But the macaroni pie is a resilient dish, and six months later, the owners tried a new recipe, and the results were much different: “We decided to give macaroni another chance and tried once more,” manager Anna Grum said. They didn’t take at first, leading to them being taken off the shelves. The Piemaker only began selling the Macaroni Pie in 2014, to rival Greggs, the UK’s foremost high-street bakery (with 1,700 locations), who had their own version - Greggs are well known for incorporating regional pastries into their shops. The Piemaker on Edinburgh’s South Bridge, just off the Royal Mile which runs from Holyrood Palace to Edinburgh Castle, right in the center of town, sells over 2,500 each month, sometimes up to 10 times more during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. You’ll find macaroni pies in most independent bakeries, some corner shops, and frozen or pre-packaged in supermarkets. Sometimes they’re loose and creamy, but not so loose that the filling would tumble down your shirt after you take the first bite. Sometimes they’re dense and claggy, the kind of mac and cheese burger joints have readily taken to deep frying so they’re easily able to be sliced and shared, picnic style. They’re not so small that you’d really want to eat more than one at a time, but not so big that you’d feel good about sharing one. With the macaroni pie, its origins are trickier to ascertain. Also, a gratined top provides a fair approximation of a lid, and more importantly, acts as a vehicle for more cheese. There’s no lid to the pie, but the filling sits deep enough inside the crust to confirm its status as a pie, rather than a tart. It’s macaroni and cheese, in a hot-water crust pie shell - pastry made with lard and boiling water, which makes it stronger and firmer than a shortcrust, and ideal for raised pies. ![]() You can guess what it is, but I’m going to tell you anyway. The macaroni pie is simple and it is odd. It’s a decent walk, but doable, definitely doable, so before attempting it I did what anyone would do - I found lunch, and I found it in the form of one of Scotland’s truest, purest delicacies: the macaroni pie. For the uninitiated, Arthur’s Seat is the dormant volcano that dominates the centre of Edinburgh, “a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design,” according to one of the city’s most decorated writers, Robert Louis Stevenson. It took me a couple of weeks of living in Scotland before I first went up Arthur’s Seat.
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