Name: Greek Meat Pasta (Makaronia me kima)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients: 1 (16 ounce) package rotini pasta; 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided; 1 pound ground beef; 6 tomatoes, grated; 1 sweet yellow onion, grated; 0.5 cup water; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 0.5 teaspoon white sugar; 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper; salt and ground black pepper to taste; 4 cups shredded Mizithra cheese; 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Ingredients

Instructions

Step 1

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.
Step 2

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.
Step 3

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Step 4

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.
Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!