Cottage Beef and Pasta

PanNan's Note:

This is posted for the World Tour 2005 event. The source is The New Zealand Beef & Lamb Marketing Bureau web site. I've modified the recipe slightly. Since it was first reviewed I noticed that salt, pepper and pepper flakes were missing in the ingredient list, so they have been added. This recipe is better the next day - if you can, make it ahead through step 5, refrigerate and bake before you're ready to serve.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 onion , peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic , minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 3 stalks celery , finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 14 ounces canned tomatoes
• ¼ cup beef stock
• 3 tablespoons parsley , chopped
• salt and pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces corkscrew macaroni (or penne)
• 2 eggs
• 8 ounces cottage cheese (or plain yogurt, or creme fraiche)
• ¾ cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the onion in oil, in a frying pan, on low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Set aside.
2. Add the ground beef to the pan, and cook, breaking it up often until the meat is no longer pink. Add the cooked onions back to the pan with the celery, bay leaf and dried herbs, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes, and beef stock. Cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
3. Meanwhile, Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until al dente. Drain and add salt to taste.
4. When the meat is cooked, remove the bay leaf and stir in the parsley. Mix the pasta with the meat then turn into a baking dish.
5. Beat the eggs with the cottage cheese (or yogurt or crème fraiche) and grated cheese. Pour over the meat/pasta mixture.
6. Bake at 375C for about 30 minutes until the top has browned and the sauce is bubbly.

Reviews

[Buster's friend]

Great recipe. Did substitute just over 2/3 cup diced feta for the grated cheese & doubled the white sauce. Lovely, fast & satisfying. Best of all 0 it reheats perfectly! Keeper recipe - plan to make with a bit of ground lamb next time round. Thanks for another real keeper PanNan!

[Annette NC]

I made this with Boca Veggie Crumbles and it was amazing! I also used penne pasta. This was very easy and well worth the time it took to make it.

[FrenchBunny]

This was a really delicious pasta dish. I read all the reviews first and I added 16 oz of Tomato sauce and I had a little bit left over of diced tomatoes, so I added them with the other 14 oz. That is all I changed and it turned out really great. We all loved this dish and will definitely make again. Just to mention I chose to use yogurt since that is what I had. Great flavor. Thanks for posting PanNan this recipe.