Greek Meat Pasta (Makaronia Me Kima) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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.