(PASTA BAKE WITH PORK)
SERVES 8-10 | PREPARATION TIME: 40-45 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 45 MINUTES (OR 1 HOUR FROM CHILLED)
This means ‘macaroni of the oven’. This popular dish is seldom the same from one household to the other as we all add our own twists. You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate it, so all you need to do before dinner is pop the dish in the oven.
INGREDIENTS
300g no.2 size long macaroni (you could use any tube-shaped pasta instead)
1kg pork mince
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped (approx. 20g)
4 tbsp tomato passata
Sea salt and black pepper
Handful of dried mint
200ml vegetable stock
For the béchamel sauce
2 eggs, beaten
100g flour
1 litre milk
1 stock cube or 1 tsp stock powder
100g Cyprus Village halloumi, grated
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°c/180°c fan/Gas Mark 6. Cook and drain the pasta.
Brown the pork mince in a large pan over a medium-high heat, then add the cinnamon, parsley, passata, salt and pepper. Crush over the handful of dried mint with your hands. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid has evaporated.
For the béchamel sauce
Place the eggs, flour, milk and stock cube or powder into the pan and stir it all well together using a whisk. Keep stirring over the heat until the sauce thickens, then stir in most of the halloumi and save the rest.
Before assembling the macaronia dou fournou, add a few spoonfuls of béchamel to the meat sauce and stir in to make it creamy.
To assemble, place half the cooked macaroni into an ovenproof dish. You can line it up perfectly or throw it in; according to my Yiayia, this shows what sort of person you are, but I would say it depends on how busy you are! The next layer is half of the meat sauce, followed by a thin layer of the béchamel sauce, the remaining meat sauce and then finally the remaining béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the grated halloumi over the top and bake in the oven for 45 minutes (or about an hour from chilled) or until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
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