Catalonia 5: Macaroni with Tomato 🌞

MACARONI WITH TOMATO

Ingredients (for 4 people)

400 g (14oz) macaroni
3 onions
2 tomatoes
water
olive oil
300 g (10.5oz) minced pork
2 chicken livers
salt

Preparation

1. Begin by making a sofregit with the finely chopped onion and a splash
of oil.

2. Add grated tomato halfway through the cooking process and let
concentrate.

3. Fry pork and crushed chicken livers lightly on a pan with a splash of
oil. Add to the sofregit and cook for a few more minutes.

4. Adjust salt and finish cooking.

5. Bring a pot of water to a boil with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt.

6. When water starts to boil, add macaroni and stir. Boil until al dente.

7. Drain and add to the sofregit. Stir.

Comments

Macaroni dishes are very popular. Originally in Catalonia they were
prepared for town festivals, but they have become everyday meals because
they’re so easy to cook. In rural homes, the olive oil is often substituted for lard,
especially for making the sofregit. It’s usually served as an only
course meal garnished with a good salad, because it includes pasta, meat
and vegetables all in the same dish.

Frequently, the minced meat is substituted for raw (Catalan sausage) to
get a very tasty meat; or it is even grilled on a baking tray with grated
cheese sprinkled on top and some butter.

During the autumn months you can add some mushrooms like pinkmottle
woodwax, or chanterelles.

The amount of sofregit made with onion and tomato (not tomato sauce) is
very important. Not much is needed, but only enough to season the
macaroni well. The pasta must be somewhat dry, without filling the plate
with the sauce.

From "Roots Catalan" by Joan Roca

So Sofregitty!