Greek Macaroni & Hamburger Casserole (makaronia Phournista)

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 3 quarts water (12 cups)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb elbow macaroni (i use barilla plus) or 1 lb shell macaroni (i use barilla plus)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 (12 ounce) can seasoned tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon grated orange rind
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
• 3 -4 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
• 3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 4 -5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cup red wine (i like marsala wine)
• 8 ounces kefalotiri (or to taste) or 8 ounces gruyere, grated (or to taste)
• 4 -5 ounces kasseri cheese (to cover top) or 4 -5 ounces cheddar cheese, sliced tissue thin (to cover top)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 put water, salt, olive oil and in a large pot and bring to a boil.
• 3 add macaroni, cook until well done (9-10 minutes), and drain.
• 4 melt butter in sauce pan, add tomato paste, stir and mix well.
• 5 add sugar, salt, cinnamon, oregano, orange rind, orange juice, bay leaves, and cloves, and stir well.
• 6 continue stirring while slowly adding warm water.
• 7 cover and simmer until only 2/3 of the liquid remains.
• 8 season beef with salt and pepper, and sauté in olive oil until meat is dry, breaking up meat while browning, so it will not be lumpy when done (8-10 minutes).
• 9 add onions and garlic and continue to sauté until onion is yellow (3-5 minutes).
• 10 pour wine over this mixture, stir well, cover tightly, and set aside.
• 11 when only 2/3 of the liquid remains in the tomato sauce, add the ground beef mixture.
• 12 continue to simmer covered until sauce is thickened.
• 13 keep hot.
• 14 put layers in a baking pan in the following order: (1) macaroni (2) meat sauce (3) kephalotiri cheese.
• 15 keep layering until everything is used up, with the last layer being the meat/tomato sauce.
• 16 cover the top layer with a single layer of kaseri cheese.
• 17 bake until the kasseri is melted (2-3 minutes).
• 18 serve hot.