Cottage Beef and Pasta

Submitted by PanNan

"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."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 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
• 1⁄4 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)
• 3⁄4 cup cheddar cheese, grated

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 375F for about 30 minutes until the top has browned and the sauce is bubbly.

Reviews

[Satyne]

Made for ZWT 2012. Absolutely delicious. My partner who isn't a huge eater went back for seconds. One housemate had already had dinner, but had two servings and my other one asked me to rate it A would eat the **** out of it again. I also enjoyed it greatly and a six serving meal was devoured by 4 thoroughly impressed people.<br/><br/>Very easy to follow recipe, easy to make and goes down like a treat. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Karen Elizabeth]

we really enjoyed this, comfort food. I used tri colour spiral pasta, which made it a bit different to look at ha ha, but really a delicious dish, thank you, made for Susies World Tour.

 

[Leslie]

Really delicious pasta dish that my entire family enjoyed. I had only crushed tomatoes so I used those and topped with some freshly grated parmesan. It was terrific and easy to make. I would use this as a make ahead meal in the future, I think it would freeze nicely. Thanks for posting Nan! Made for ZWT #8 :)

 

[Marcasite Queen]

This is a delicious dish - so flavorful! I assembled and baked the same day, then ate it the next, so I think that gave it time for the flavors to meld. Will definitely make again!

 

[Nif_H]

This reminded me of a dish that I used to make. The old recipe used cream cheese and a lot more ground beef and cheese - it was very heavy but very tasty! This recipe has a lot of the same flavours but you don't have to have a nap on the couch after eating! I was low on cottage cheese so I supplemented with plain yogurt. I thought I had some regular pasta but had to use brown rice pasta instead. I tossed a little bit of cheese on top to add a bit of colour. Small changes to a great recipe. Very good! Made for ZWT8. Thanks PanNan! :)