Greek Spaghetti & Meat Sauce: Macaronia me Kima

📝 Ingredients

• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• 4-5 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 pounds ground beef
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 15 ounces canned diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 teaspoons salt
• enough water to boil
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional
• grated kefalotiri, graviera, or Parmesan cheese

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Make the Meat Sauce:
2. 2In a pot, add the onion, oil, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until soft and golden. About 7-8 minutes.
3. 3Add the garlic and warm through until fragrant.
4. 4Add the ground beef, salt, and black pepper and cook until no longer pink. Break up the ground beef while cooking.
5. 5Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, paprika, and a little water and cook on medium-high heat until the sauce thickens. About 20 minutes.
6. 6Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add the oregano, enough water to get the sauce to the desired consistency and cook a few more minutes. Add the parsley and mix together. Set aside.
7. 7Make the Spaghetti: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta. Cook according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain the pasta but reserve about a cup of the pasta water. leave some of the pasta water in the pot with the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and add some dried oregano and toss together.
8. 8Serve the pasta topped with the meat sauce and lots of grated cheese. Kali Orexi!