GREEK MEAT PASTA (MAKARONIA ME KIMA)

Greek Meat Pasta (Makaronia me kima) image

A staple pasta dish in the Greek house. The cinnamon is what gives it the flavorful richness. The combination of Greek Mizithra cheese makes it even better.

Provided by GreekMuse

Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Greek

Time 1h25m

Yield 10

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package rotini pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef
6 tomatoes, grated
1 sweet yellow onion, grated
½ cup water
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 cups shredded Mizithra cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps:

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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 514.8 calories, Carbohydrate 95.1 g, Cholesterol 68.9 mg, Fat 21.9 g, Fiber 5.8 g, Protein 23.9 g, SaturatedFat 8.7 g, Sodium 1277.9 mg, Sugar 11.1 g