Schinkenfleckerl Überbacken, Viennese Mac'n'Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 kg ham or smoked rolled roast
• 1 kg cooked fusilli noodles or small square flat noodles (Fleckerl)
• 500 ml cream
• 500 ml sour cream
• 1-2 eggs
• marjoram
• nutmeg
• pepper
• parmesan
• chilli flakes

Method

This is a baked pasta bound with cream and egg that relies on gentle heat to set without curdling. The eggs act as an emulsifier and binder — too high a temperature and they scramble into grit instead of creating a silken custard base. Start with the ham: slice it 5 mm thick, then cut those slices into cubes roughly the size of a pea. Smallness matters here. Larger pieces turn leathery at 160°C over two hours; pea-sized ham releases its salt and smoke evenly into the cream.

Cook the fusilli (or Fleckerl if you can find them) to just shy of al dente — it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain it but don't rinse; the starch helps the sauce cling. Whip the cream to soft peaks, which introduces air and creates a more delicate, less heavy finished dish. Fold in the sour cream, then add one egg beaten with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in marjoram (generous — a teaspoon, fresh or dried) and nutmeg (quarter-teaspoon; this is seasoning restraint, not boldness). The marjoram is the spine of austrian-cuisine here; it should be present but not announcing itself. Add the ham cubes and the drained pasta, folding until evenly distributed. The mixture should look creamy but with distinct pockets of ham and noodle visible — not homogeneous paste.

Transfer into a shallow baking pan (two 20 cm × 30 cm pans work better than one deep one; they heat more evenly) lined with baking paper. Bake at 160°C until the surface firms — roughly ninety minutes, but the real cue is when you tilt the pan and the centre barely quivers. The custard will have set fully but should still yield slightly to the spoon, not crack like scrambled eggs. If the top hasn't coloured by ninety minutes, raise heat to 180°C for the final fifteen.

Scatter parmesan and chilli flakes over the surface. Gratinate under a hot grill for three to four minutes — watch it, because it will blacken fast. The baking|oven-baked surface should be gold and begin to brown at the edges without losing its creamy interior.

Schinkenfleckerl is a make-ahead dish; it holds at room temperature for an hour before serving, or refrigerate overnight and reheat gently in a moderate oven with a small splash of cream stirred through to restore moisture.