Firinda Makarna – Turkish Mac n Cheese

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Last Updated on November 14, 2019 by bennrobin

Firinda Makarna

Firinda Makarna – Turkish Mac n Cheese is a complete meal with halloumi and ground meat.

Turkish Mac n Cheese

This month is the biannual Blogging Marathon, but due to a super busy work schedule I had to opt out. However, I had already created some great recipes for the marathon before I decided there just wasn’t enough time for me to prepare the required 26 recipes for the month. I had selected the theme of pasta and had planned on doing a whole week of mac n cheese recipes from around the world. I’m afraid you are just going to have to be content with this Turkish version for the month.

This Turkish version of mac n cheese is a great baked version for a twist on an American classic. Although I used a combination of ground lamb and turkey, ground beef would be more traditional.

If you’ve never tried halloumi cheese, you’re missing out. It is a salty, fresh cheese sold in a mint infused brine. It’s a firm cheese that can be grilled or fried and is a wonderful addition to any sandwich or salad.

Be prepared for a number of pasta recipes this month…perfect as a lead in to the fall season I think!

Firin Makarna -edit

This casserole makes the perfect #comfortfood on a cold winter night. As fall is starting in just a few weeks, it’s time to start collecting some recipes we want to try in the cold temperatures.

Turkish Mac and Cheese -edit

It is so creamy and luscious.

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Firinda Makarna – Turkish Mac n Cheese

Firinda Makarna – Turkish Mac & Cheese is a complete meal with meat and cheesy goodness!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • 1 lb. ground lamb
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup parsley leaves finely chopped
  • salt to taste
  • 1 lb. noodles see note below
  • Cheese Sauce Ingredients:
  • 4 cups milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 16 oz. halloumi grated
  • 2 cups grated cheese any good melting cheese see note below
  • 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons mustard powder

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 F.
  • Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
  • In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute until softened.
  • Add ground meat and cook until browned. Add mint, parsley and salt. Stir to combine. Add to cooked pasta and stir to combine.
  • Whisk together the milk and eggs. Heat the milk while whisking to prevent eggs from scrambling. Add halloumi and 1 cup of the grated cheese. Cook until cheese melts. Add mustard and flour one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer on low heat until sauce is very thick. Add this to meat and pasta and mix thoroughly.
  • Bake in oven for 1 hour until golden brown on top.

Notes

I used Bulgarian Kashkaval (a sheep’s milk cheese) cheese but Greek Kasseri is also a good substitute, or even just cheddar if international cheeses are not available.
The noodles used are thin egg noodles. I was able to find a comparable Bulgarian brand at an Eastern European market, however regular supermarket egg noodles would work just as good.
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Comments

  1. The only way I’ve ever used halloumi cheese is either in salads or sandwiches. What a great idea to use it in a pasta dish. Bookmarking the recipe to try out your different kind of cheese sauce recipe.

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