This recipe is one that my father and I have come up with for a simple, but great-tasting pasta bake dinner. Below is the picture of the finished result:
INGREDIENTS
• 500g Penne Rigate Pasta
• 1kg Minced Beef
• 2 410g cans of Tomato Puree
• Mixed Herbs
• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 10 shakes of Cayenne Pepper (adjust to your specific spice tolerance)
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Large Garlic Bulb (8 cloves)
• 2 cups of Basmati Rice
• Olive Oil
• Cheese
• Salt
METHOD
Bring a pot of water to boil, and then place in 500g of the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes.
At the same time, place two cups of rice in a rice cooker. Rinse the rice four or five times to completely remove any excess starch. Then add one cup of water for every one cup of rice (two cups of water, in this case). Cook in the rice cooker until complete. If it is too hard, add another half cup of water and place it on cook again.
Blend the onion and the garlic in the blender. In a small pan with olive oil, fry the onion and garlic until it is brown.
In a fry pan or wok over medium heat, place in the garlic and onion with the beef and cook until the beef is dark brown. The darker, without being burned, the better. When is it is dark brown, add in the two cans of tomato puree. Add in a couple shakes of the mixed herbs, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir and reduce the sauce down to desired consistency. It is recommended that you reduce down until you can see the bottom of the pan or wok with ease and the mixture is able to be picked up with a wooden spoon.
Place the rice evenly at the bottom of the baking dish. Add the beef mixture to the dish. Then, cover the top with the cooked and drained pasta. Evenly cover the top of the pasta with the desired amount of grated cheese.
Cook in the oven uncovered on 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.
Enjoy!
