Setita’s Macarrón

When my grandparents emigrated from Syria in the 1950s, they took an Italian cargo ship that also carried passengers to Mexico. They spent forty days on the ship, eating pasta, and my grandmother, Setita, hated it ever since.

Setita was an excellent chef, and she would make kilos of her special “macarrón” for her beloved grandchildren. No one knows how she got the recipe, but she put her own spin on simple spaghetti with tomato sauce.

• Boil spaghetti with a medium onion
• Drain spaghetti with onion and spread on a tray or wide container.
• Let dry for 24 hours, occasionally flipping over. Why? No one knows. It’s key.
• After 24 hours, slice cooked onion into slivers. Yes, slivers. Setita was that precise.
• In pot, sauté onion slivers with butter, tomato sauce and Arabic pepper. Arabic pepper is a mixture of ground black pepper, clove, allspice, and cinnamon. Most families have their own recipe, but he who seeks, finds.
• Add cooked spaghetti and toss sauce and spaghetti until they are well mixed.
• Add boiling water until it covers the spaghetti and let boil until water evaporates.

Setita lives in this recipe and many others, and she loved sharing her food, so I know I write this with her blessings from Heaven.

Sachten ya-habibi! Buen provecho! Enjoy!