My Mother-in-law's Macarones

My mother-in-law, nicknamed Chelo, would always call penne pasta: Macarones. I thought it was only her way of calling them until I moved here and everyone calls them like that. So, pennes are called macarones in my house now!

This is one of her recipes that her sons love. David and Oscar always rave about their Mom's macarones. I must admit, being the pasta lover that I am, I am a huge fan as well. I have been making this recipe often for David (of course, with a few "adjustments" to give it my little touch). Chelo knows how much her kids love this recipe that she actually gave it to me titled: Macarones de Oscar y David, in my First Recipe Book that was given to me by the wonderful ladies that attended my shower. :)

Los Macarones de Chelo

Ingredients:

500gr ground beef
500gr penne pasta
3 chorizos
200gr pancetta or jamon
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup white wine
1 can of ground tomatoes
parsley
salt and pepper
oil

Heat water into a large pasta pot.

Chop the onion and garlic and slice the chorizos and pancetta. I use my paellera to do this dish as Chelo always uses hers and it calls for a nice presentation on the table.

Heat some oil in the paellera. Now, since my stove is not wide enough to heat the whole paellera, I use it to my advantage. I cook in the middle and then move the ingredients aside instead of dirting another plate.

When the oil is ready, add your pancetta or jamon (I used pancetta this time but usually use jamon).

When they are lightly brown, move to the side and add the chorizo to cook.

Same process once they are lightly cooked, move aside and add the ground beef.

Same process. When lightly cooked, move aside and add the garlic and onions to the middle.

When they have sweated, mix all the ingredients together and add the white wine. Chelo doesn't add wine but you can go wrong adding a splash of wine ;) Let it evaporate for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook well for about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in the boiling water. When al dente, remove, drain and add to the paellera.

Mix well.

Now, this is the crucial part as per David. Broil the pasta in the oven at high until it becomes crispy on top. Chelo always adds a few pieces of butter to help it get crispy but I have found that you don't really need to because of the sauce.

So here is the final result after all that broiling. For David, the more burnt, the better!

So here you go, one of my Mother-in-Law fantastic Spanish recipes. Hope you enjoy it as much as the whole family does!