The Syrian Macaroni Dish That Made Its Way Around the Globe

Photo by Yoni Nimrod

Shared by Emanuelle Lee

Recipe Roots: Aleppo, Syria > Tel Aviv > Manilla  > San Francisco > Great Neck, NY > London > New York City

Chef and writer Emanuelle Lee remembers the first time her parents left her and her four siblings home alone for the evening in their London home. She was around 10 years old and it was up to the kids to make dinner. They banded together to cook, settling on a family staple: Macaroni chicken, a Syrian baked pasta dish spiced with cinnamon. Emanuelle remembers the process taking hours and the pride the siblings felt when it was ready. “Since then, it’s the dish that always brings us together,” she says. 

Marsha (right), her sister (center) and Grandma Helena (left) in San Francisco in 1975.

The recipe traces back to Grandma Helena, as Emanuelle’s maternal grandmother was known in the family. Born in Aleppo, Syria in the 1920s, she moved to British Mandate Palestine in 1934 where she met her husband. Together, in 1954 they moved to the Philippines for business and raised their children in Manilla, and later San Francisco. 

Over the thousands-mile journey, Helena carried with her traditional Syrian recipes like the macaroni chicken (which she called the dish, no matter what pasta shape she used)  and a cabbage salad made with lemon, garlic, and parsley, kibbeh plunged into soup, and rice with bed a blemune or hot lemon sauce. “Syrian Jews may have lost their homes but their heritage was always preserved through their food… My mom's family had great pride and enthusiasm for the delicious jewels of her own mom's table,” Emanuelle explains. 

The family’s time in the Philippines also influenced Helena’s cooking and she started to introduce new flavors and dishes to her repertoire including spring rolls and pancit, a dish of stir fried noodles. 

By the time Emanuelle was little, Helena had relocated to Long Island. Each summer, everyone in the family “would come for a couple of weeks at a time,” Emanuelle recalls, including her and her siblings, who were raised in London. “We’d all be piled into bedrooms and it would be a complete mad house.” But one that was filled with joy. As the grandchildren of all ages came down to the kitchen each morning, sometime between 7 a.m. and noon, Helena would have their favorite breakfast prepared. At dinner, the macaroni chicken and cabbage graced the table often, a favorite of all of the 17 grandchildren. Grandma Helena was often in the kitchen and as Emanuelle spent time with her there, she says she saw “how much of an influence she had on keeping a family together by feeding them.”

Emanuelle and her siblings on a vacation in Colorado in 1996. From left to right in the back row: Emanuelle’s brother Victor, sister Simone, sister Ilana. Front row: Emanuelle (left) and her sister Julia (right).

Back in London, Emanuelle’s mother Marsha made macaroni chicken for Shabbat dinners, which the family often celebrated in their pajamas when the children were little, so they would be ready for bed after dinner. “We always had the most impeccable pajamas for Shabbat dinner,” Emanuelle says. Even today, Emanuelle says: “If one of my siblings mentions the phrase ‘pajama shabbat’ everyone’s like ‘I’m in, I’m in, I’m in.’” 

They also connect over macaroni chicken. “I still honestly all the time get these messages on our family Whatsapp group saying ‘Making macaroni chicken tonight, whose coming over?’” It’s always followed immediately by buzzes saying “yes” and a few sad “no’s,” as Emanuelle’s siblings now live in New York and she’s remained in London. 

Everyone makes their own iteration of the family recipe. “No one is ever really sure exactly how [Grandma Helena] made it,” Emanuelle says. “Somehow we all have a slightly different variation of memory of how she made it.” Was it made with chicken breasts pieces? Leftover chicken from Shabbat? Or perhaps it was a whole chicken that was cut up into pieces? No one is sure. But, Emanuelle says: “That’s kind of the beauty of it. You can kind of use what you have and it always turns out amazingly.”

Macaroni Chicken with Cinnamon

Photo by Yoni Nimrod

Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients
3 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon salt, divided
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin on and bone in 
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 ¼ teaspoons ground pepper, divided
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
¾  teaspoon ground allspice, divided
1 teaspoon ground paprika, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup tomato paste 
2 tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 pound spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 420F. 

2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt into the water. 

3. Meanwhile, roast the chicken: Spread the sliced onions onto a baking tray and place the chicken pieces on top. Rub about 1 tablespoons of olive oil onto all the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of allspice and ½ teaspoon of paprika. Rub the spiced onto all surfaces of the chicken pieces. Place the chicken pieces with the skin side up. Transfer the tray into the oven and roast the chicken for about 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 350F. 

4. Make the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pot over medium low heat and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic is softened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until the tomato paste becomes silky and begins to bubble slightly in the pot, about 1 more minute. Add the sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Mix well. Add 1 ¾ cups of water and stir well. Increase the heat to medium high. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low. Continue cooking the sauce on a simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Set aside. 

5. Place the spaghetti into the pot of boiling water. Cook the spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the packet directions. Reserve 3 tablespoons of hot pasta water on the side. Drain the spaghetti.

6. Place the cooked spaghetti, spiced tomato sauce and the roasted onions into a large baking dish (about 9 inches by 13 inches). Toss the spaghetti until it is evenly coated with the sauce and onions. If the sauce is not coating easily, add the reserved pasta water and continue to toss. Nestle the chicken pieces over the spaghetti with a bit of space between each piece. Sprinkle the top of the spaghetti and chicken with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Transfer the baking dish into the oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the spaghetti and chicken are crispy and golden. 

7. Serve immediately.

Cabbage Salad with Garlic Lemon and Parsley

Photo by Yoni Nimroad

Makes: 4 servings
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ green cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cups fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped 
2 tablespoons toasted chopped almonds (optional)

Preparation
1. Place the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt in a large bowl and mix well until the ingredients are combined. Place the cabbage in the bowl and mix thoroughly to coat cabbage with the dressing. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the dressed cabbage in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. 

2. Transfer the cabbage from the refrigerator. Add ¾ of the parsley into the cabbage and mix well. 

3. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining parsley and chopped almonds (if using). Serve cold.