Macaronade is the traditional Sunday meal in Sète, a seaside town on the Mediterranean. It’s a big, earthy pasta dish likely imported by the Italians who settled in the region in the eighteenth century.
Locals are very proud of it, and it’s said every family has its own recipe. There are no strict rules here, but rather a method that you can follow with your ingredients of choice. The dish starts by making brageoles—also called “alouettes sans tête,” meaning “larks with no heads.” They are small beef rolls, stuffed here with bacon, garlic and parsley. Then, the tomato sauce is flavored with a few twists—I use orange juice, zest and paprika—and slow-simmered.
Finally, this dish must be served over pasta. As you probably guessed, the name macaronade derives from macaroni—but funny enough, you’ll find it more often served with larger pastas, such as penne, spaghetti or in this case, strozzapreti.
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
6 chuck-region beef slices (
” [2 mm] thick x 5” [12.5 cm] long x 2” [5 cm] wide; see note)
6 strips bacon
3 tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
¼ cup (60 ml) red cooking wine
½ orange, zested and juiced
1 tbsp (25 g) tomato paste
1 (28-oz [796-g]) can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp (12 g) salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
11–14 oz (300–400 g) pasta, such as strozzapreti, penne or spaghetti
Grated Parmesan, for serving
Start by making the brageoles. Finely chop the parsley with the stems, and mix it with the garlic. Set aside in a small bowl. Lay the beef slices flat on a work surface. Lay a strip of bacon on top of each beef slice and then add about 2 tablespoons (30 g) of the parsley-garlic mix. Starting from the narrow end, roll up each parcel, keeping them as tight as possible. Tie with butcher’s twine.
In a Dutch oven or large stove-top pot, heat the extra-virgin olive oil. Sear the beef rolls for 5 minutes on each side over medium heat, until lightly browned. Set aside on a plate, and cover with foil.
Add the onion to the remaining oil and cook for about 3 minutes, until glistening. Add the wine, orange zest and juice, tomato paste, tomatoes and the equivalent of the tomato can filled with water. Stir, add the paprika, salt and ground pepper and transfer the beef rolls back into the pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes with the lid on and 45 minutes with the lid off, until the sauce has thickened a fair amount.
Cook the pasta until it is al-dente. Drain and stir it into the sauce.
For serving, lay the beef rolls on top of the pasta, cut off the butcher’s twine and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
NOTE: Ask your butcher for slices from the “chuck area” of the cow, cut into the dimensions you need. Alternatively, you can pound the meat into -inch (2-mm)-thick slices yourself. Do not opt for the thin fast-fry beef strips as they are not suited for slow-simmering; they get quite tough.