Sweet macaroni pie

This is a traditional recipe coming from Lefkada island. Lefkada is a beautiful island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece. It is connected though to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. Many delicious recipes come from this place and one of those is this unusual sweet pie with pasta

Ingredients:
3Lt of milk, full fat
8 eggs
250gr. thick tubular macaroni pasta
2 tea-cups of corn flour
1 1/2-2 water-glasses of sugar
2-3 tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
cinnamon, powder
cloves, powder
2-3 tbsp of very fine breadcrumbs

Method:
Boil the macaroni, al dente, in a pot with plenty of salted water and a bit of olive oil. When the pasta is ready drain in a colander.

Save one tea-cup of the milk and warm the rest well in medium heat but without letting it come to the boil.

Dissolve the corn flour in the milk you kept aside and then add it slowly in the warmed milk, stirring at the same time with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture has thickened into a cream and be careful not to let it stick on the bottom of the saucepan. When the cream is ready, take off the heat and let it aside.

In a plastic bowl whisk the eggs well and then add the cinnamon, the cloves and the vanilla. Keep whisking and adding slowly, at the same time, a few tablespoons of the hot cream (so the egg mixture will reach the same temperature with it). Add the egg mixture into the saucepan and stir again. In the end add the butter and the sugar and stir again for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Get a medium size oven pan and grease it with some butter. Sprinkle the bottom of it with the breadcrumbs and spread the macaroni on top evenly.

Pour the cream over the pasta and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the cream is settled and the top of it is nicely coloured and crusty.

Take out of the oven and let it stand for about half an hour before you serve. You can sprinkle on top with some more cinnamon and icing sugar.