Greek Meat Pasta (makaronia Me Kima)

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 (16 ounce) package rotini pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 tomatoes, grated
• 1 sweet yellow onion, grated
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 4 cups shredded mizithra cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ready Time: 1 hr 25 mins


• bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ground beef until browned, about 10 minutes. add tomatoes, onion, water, tomato paste, cinnamon, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. simmer meat sauce over medium-low heat until flavors combine, 20 minutes.
• preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c).
• pour meat sauce over rotini; mix well. pour half the pasta mixture into a casserole dish; sprinkle with half the mizithra cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle remaining mizithra cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes.