Akis Petretzikis’ Makaronia me kima
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil, for the ground meat
500 g ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil, for the onion
2 onions, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dry thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
100 ml red wine
200 ml water
1 beef or chicken bouillon cube
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3 allspice berries
1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g)
1 package spaghetti (500 g)
100 ml heavy cream
parmesan cheese, grated for serving
METHOD
Place a deep nonstick pan over high heat and let it get very hot.
1. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ¼ of the ground meat, torn apart in to smaller pieces with your hands. Do not break it apart completely so that you bite in to large bits of ground meat.
2. Sauté until it is nicely caramelised on the outside. You do not need to cook it all the way through.
3. When ready, transfer to a bowl and repeat the same process for another 3 batches of the ground meat and set aside.
4. Place the same pan over heat. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic, sugar and dry thyme. Sauté for at least 4-5 minutes, until the onion caramelizes. Add the ground meat and tomato paste. Stir.
5. Add the wine and allow all of the alcohol to evaporate completely.
6. Add the water, bouillon cube, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, all spice and canned chopped tomatoes.
7. Lower heat, stir and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
8. While the meat sauce is cooking, prepare the pasta.
9. Cook the spaghetti in a pot full of salted, boiling water. Boil according to the directions on the package, for about 5-6 minutes. You want the pasta to be al dente.
10. When ready, drain and set aside.
11. When the sauce has thickened, add the heavy cream. Stir and remove from heat.
12. Serve the spaghetti with two heaped spoonfuls of meat sauce, fresh parmesan, basil leaves and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.
Rating ***
Rating ***