Recipe: Madeiran Macarronada
From our latest cookbook in collaboration with Apartamento, discover Nuno Mendes' authentic Madeiran macarronada recipe – a rich and hearty pasta dish made with beef short ribs, chouriço, peppers and tomatoes.
Even the most clued-up tourist will leave Madeira without ever tasting this proper potful of heritage. Except you, dear reader, with whom I’m entrusting this gem. Macarronada is comfort food through and through, the sort of thing rustled up at home or in a big pot at those expert snack bars. Glance at the recipe, and you’ll smugly assume it’s some kind of ragù or bolognese, but no: Madeiran macarronada is rougher, more down-to-earth, more unapologetically fatty. It calls for a special cut called costela mendinha – ask your butcher for beef short ribs on the bone – and a unique pasta made from local durum wheat semolina by the local brand Insular.
To recreate it properly, I’d recommend good-quality ziti – the closest match – or rigatoni or penne if you’re in a pinch. And when you tuck in, eat it with gusto, cheeks puffed out like a contented hamster; if your lips aren’t glistening with that natural fat by the end, you’ve failed the assignment.
Ingredients Serves: 4–6
- 500g beef short ribs, minced or cut into small pieces
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp of salt
- 4 medium onions, finely chopped
- 4 pork chouriços, sliced
- 240ml dry white wine
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can peeled tomatoes, chopped and seeded
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- ½ tsp of salt and black pepper
- 250g macaroni, ziti or rigatoni
Instructions
Step 1 / 6
Season the beef with garlic and salt.
Step 2 / 6
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic until lightly golden.
Step 3 / 6
Add the beef, chouriço, wine, peppers, bay leaves, tomatoes and spring onions. Cover and simmer over a low heat until the sauce reduces by about half.
Step 4 / 6
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper.
Step 5 / 6
Add the macaroni directly unto the sauce, stirring occasionally as it cooks, ensuring the pasta absorbs the rich flavours while remaining juicy.
Step 6 / 6
Remove from the heat and briefly let it rest before serving.
This recipe is taken from ‘Madeira: Recipes & Wanderings on the Atlantic Island of Eternal Spring,’ the fifth cookbook in the collaborative series between Belmond and Apartamento.
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