However you grew up making this pasta casserole and whichever nickname you use, you're still enjoying an important piece of American food history. While they may have come from different sources of inspiration, the names represent the same concept in spirit. The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drinknotes the pattern of American one-pot dinners taking on the names of mixed plates from around the world, like goulash, chop suey, and slumgullion (from the British salmagundi). Others were portmanteaus of the ingredients, like beefaroni and chili mac.īut some of the most popular names follow the early 20th century trend of borrowing names from existing dishes. Some names were tied to a region, like the Johnny Marzetti casserole out of Columbus, Ohio. In fact, even more nicknames for the pasta casserole were coined over time. What didn't streamline, however, was the name. The dish became a catch-all casserole that could give new life to leftover ingredients. The traditional accompaniment of rice was also swapped out for spaghetti, and later macaroni. Instead of tough cuts of stew meat, recipes began calling for quick-cooking ground beef. Later versions of the casserole played with different aromatics and ingredients like cabbage, peppers, and olives, before the dish started to streamline in the 1960s. These dishes may have been the starting point, but over time they took on lives of their own. The stew was typically served over rice in an attempt to resemble its inspiration: the Chinese-American dish chop suey. Rather than using paprika, chunks of meat were braised in stock and barbecue sauce. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to playĪround the same time, the 1916 Manual for Army Cooks published their recipe for American chop suey.
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