Minced Beef Cake with Tortiglioni

Ingredients

• 500 g ground beef
• 500 g tortiglioni (Cook according to the package instructions, but leave slightly firmer than al dente.)
• 2 onions (Finely chopped.)
• 1 garlic clove (Finely chopped.)
• 1 red bell pepper (Diced.)
• 0.5 yellow bell pepper (Diced.)
• 0.5 orange bell pepper (Diced.)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 500 g strained tomatoes
• water (A little water; amount not specified.)
• salt and pepper (To taste; also use for the cooking water.)
• hot paprika (To taste.)
• 0.5 tsp sugar
• Worcestershire sauce (To taste; amount not specified.)
• dried oregano (To taste; amount not specified.)
• 20 g Parmesan (Stir into the meat sauce.)
• olive oil (For frying; amount not specified.)
• 200 g crème fraîche (Mix with the heavy cream.)
• 100 g heavy cream (Mix with the crème fraîche.)
• mozzarella (For sprinkling; use generously, amount not specified.)

Steps

1. 1

   Line a 26-cm baking pan with parchment paper.

2. 2

   Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet.

3. 3

   Add the ground beef to the skillet and sear over high heat until nicely browned.

4. 4

   Finely chop the onions and garlic. Dice the bell peppers.

5. 5

   Add the onions, garlic, and all the bell pepper pieces to the browned ground beef and sauté for several minutes.

6. 6

   Add the tomato paste and briefly toast it.

7. 7

   Add the strained tomatoes and a little water to the skillet.

8. 8

   Season with salt, pepper, hot paprika, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and dried oregano.

9. 9

   Simmer the meat sauce for about 10–15 minutes.

10. 10

    Stir the Parmesan into the meat sauce and adjust the seasoning again.

11. 11

    Cook the tortiglioni in salted water according to the package instructions, leaving them slightly firmer than usual. Then drain.

12. 12

    Place the cooked tortiglioni upright and close together in the prepared baking pan.

13. 13

    Carefully pour the meat sauce over the tortiglioni and distribute it between the pasta pieces.

14. 14

    Mix the crème fraîche and heavy cream, then spread evenly over the pasta layer.

15. 15

    Generously sprinkle the bake with mozzarella.

16. 16

    Preheat the oven to 180 °C conventional heat and bake the tortiglioni cake for about 25–30 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and melted.

Notes

The amounts of water, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, paprika, and mozzarella were not specified in the original. The tortiglioni should be cooked slightly firmer than usual.

Nutrition per serving

• main course
• pasta bake
• ground beef
• cheesy
• oven-baked
• creamy
• Italian-inspired