Oven-baked macaroni à la stinchen

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g minced meat, mixed
• 1 large onion(s), diced
• ½ tube(s) tomato paste
• 500 g fork macaroni, uncooked
• 1 liter meat broth
• 250 ml water
• 2 tbsp basil, frozen
• 1 cup crème fraîche
• 150 g grated cheese for topping
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp oil or margarine

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

fast and cheap, even without a bag

Brown the ground beef in a little oil or margarine in an ovenproof pan. Season with salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper. Add the onions and fry. Then add the tomato paste and mix thoroughly with the ground beef. It will quickly stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the tomato paste has evenly combined with the ground beef, deglaze with a little stock and loosen the residue from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock and water and mix well. Once everything has boiled, add the basil. Add the uncooked macaroni to the sauce and turn off the heat. The heat is sufficient to let the mixture simmer gently. Pay particular attention to even distribution here. The mixture should be covered with enough liquid that the macaroni ends don’t stick out, as otherwise they won’t cook and will only harden or burn. Then spread the crème fraîche in dollops over the ground beef and pasta mixture. Carefully spread evenly with the back of a spoon, but do not stir in. Sprinkle the desired amount of cheese over the mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.