Hollow Pasta With Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Sauce

Another Splendid Table supper recipe. The sauce is incredibly delicious, don't worry about the amount of cinnamon. The goat cheese turns it creamy; feta can also be used, but it should be a creamy type like Bulgarian sheep milk feta. If fresh tomatoes are available, use 2 pounds instead of the canned tomatoes and grate them to make pulp. I use 1/2 pound lean ground lamb in this sauce.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• Sauce

•  extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1⁄3  tighly packed cup coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
•  salt and pepper
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 6  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 1  teaspoon  ground aleppo pepper or 1  teaspoon  other mild-hot chilies or 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 cup wine (dry, either red or white)
•  one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with their  juice
• 1 1⁄2-2  cups  diced  cooked chicken (optional) or 1 1⁄2-2  cups lamb (optional)

• Pasta

• 1  lb null, bucatini. maccheronelli or 1  lb ziti pasta, broken into pieces bout 2 inches long or 1  lb  a short hollow pasta
• 1 1⁄2 cups  fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
2. Generously film the bottom of a straight-sided 12-inch saute pan with olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, parsley, and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper. Saute the onions to golden brown, then stir in the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, and Aleppo pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and saute for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the canned tomatoes, crushing them with your hand as they go into the pot. If using fresh grated tomatoes, add the pulp and their juice. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook the sauce for 8 minutes, or until thick. Taste for seasoning, add the optional cooked meat, cover the pan and remove it from the heat.
4. Cook the pasta until it is tender but still has a little bite, about 8 minutes. As pasta cooks, reheat the sauce over medium-high heat. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the sauce, tossing it over the heat for a minute to help the sauce permeate the noodles. Turn half the pasta mixture into a serving bowl and dot with half the cheese. Add the rest of the pasta and top with the remaining cheese.