Macaronade Sétoise
- Published: 8 Sep 23
- Updated: 25 Mar 24
Debora Robertson shares her recipe for Macaronade Sétoise, a hearty, meaty pasta dish from southern France. It’s made with steak, pork ribs and pork sausages in a rich, espelette pepper-spiked sauce and usually served with penne pasta. Think Italian-American Sunday sauce, but with a little extra je ne sais quoi.
For something less carnivorous, try Debora’s summer vegetable lasagne.
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Serves 6-8 -
Hands-on time 1 hour, plus simmering time 4 hours
Nutrition
- Calories
- 805kcals
- Fat
- 39g (13g saturated)
- Protein
- 58g
- Carbohydrates
- 41g (13g sugars)
- Fibre
- 6.3g
- Salt
- 1.3g
delicious. tips
Macaronade is seasoned with piment d’espelette (espelette pepper), the warm, mild (absolutely not hot) chilli of the south of France. It’s available online in the UK, or just use a mild chilli powder, with perhaps a pinch of smoked paprika.
“Sète in southeast France has a large Italian community whose fishermen ancestors arrived in the town in the 19th century. Its traditional cooking has a strong Italian accent,” says Debora Robertson. “The word macaronade comes from macaroni, though today it’s more usually served with penne rigate. This dish is quite a labour of love, though none of the stages are difficult. It’s usually served for Sunday lunch. You can make it the day before – it’s even better that way – so all you have to do is warm it through and cook the pasta at the last minute. My neighbour cooks hers for six hours, though I find four is enough.”