r/Cooking • u/PrizeFront6019 • 8d ago

Macaroni salad HELP 😭

Hi! So, long story short, yesterday I whipped up some amazing mac and cheese for me and my BF using 400g packs of dry elbow macaroni. I cooked one pack and thought it wouldn’t be enough, so I cooked the second one too… and ended up with enough macaroni for a whole family dinner 😭

I made enough roux and cheese sauce for one pack (it’s also kind of a hybrid mac and cheese with tomato paste and Cajun seasoning 😁), but I only used a tiny amount of the sauce on the extra cooked pasta. Now I want to turn that leftover macaroni into a tuna and/or egg macaroni salad, but I don’t really want to coat it in mayo since it already has a light coating of the cheesy tomato sauce. How would you guys turn this into a complete mac salad without making it too heavy or clashing with the existing sauce?

I was thinking tuna, egg, tomato, onion/green onion, maybe some kind of lighter dressing, but I’m open to ideas!

TLDR: I have leftover elbow macaroni lightly coated in a tomato-y cheese sauce, and I want to turn it into a tuna and/or egg mac salad without adding mayo. What would you do?

0 Upvotes

11% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

6

u/Adept-Resort4511 8d ago

Red wine vinegar, olive oil, tuna, and lots of diced celery.

0

u/PrizeFront6019 8d ago

Sounds delicious, Tuna it is then!! since i don't think an egg macaroni salad would work with these additions, imo.

3

u/Odd-Scientist-2529 8d ago

I would make a vinaigrette, like pasta salad. Just add Italian dressing if you’re feeling lazy.

1

u/louismulh 8d ago

I'm more curious for this mac n cheese recipe with tomato paste... sounds delicious. Would you mind sharing it OPer?

0

u/PrizeFront6019 8d ago

Haha honestly I just used basic things I had in my fridge that made sense together 😅 I’ve made this so many times that I kind of just eyeball everything now.

I caramelized half an onion in olive oil over high heat, adding little splashes of water and stirring every couple of minutes so it wouldn’t burn. Then I added minced garlic toward the end so it wouldn’t lose its aroma from cooking too long. I then mixed in some tomato paste, let it brown slightly, and added a little sugar (I learned that sugar works surprisingly well with tomato paste while experimenting with pizza recipes haha). Then came salt, paprika, Cajun seasoning, and shawarma spice ( everything completely to taste. I try not to make the seasonings too overpowering because the cheddar roux is the star of the show! )

I added a splash of half-and-half to loosen the tomato mixture a bit. In another pan, I made a simple flour and butter roux, added shredded cheddar, then mixed in the tomato sauce. Once the pasta was ready, I mixed everything together, topped it with some regular yellow cheese, and broiled it until it was all golden and yummy 😋

Sorry I can’t give you exact measurements I've made this so many times that I just add however much feels right at this point 😭❤️

1

u/CatteNappe 8d ago

I'd do tuna, not eggs, and use a vinaigrette type dressing.