Makaronia me Kima (Greek Spaghetti with Meat Sauce)

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Makaronia me Kima (pr. Mah-kha-RHO-niah MEH Kee-MAH), which literally means “Pasta with Ground Meat”, is a pasta dish with Spaghetti and Greek Meat Sauce, similar to Bolognese but with Greek flavours.

This Greek Meat Sauce is one of the easiest Greek recipes, which apart from being served over long pasta such as spaghetti or linguini, can also be used to make moussakas, pastitsio, papoutsakia, lasagne, crepes, cannelloni etc.

I have often used any leftover meat sauce on pizza, as a filling to bread rolls and on peinirli.

When someone who has never cooked before decides to start cooking, I bet that they always start with this dish.

It is not only easy to make but only a few ingredients are required and it is so tasty.

This is probably why it took me so long to post this recipe. I thought that everybody can make this recipe, so at the beginning of blogging I decided it would be preferable to post more difficult recipes.  

However, I think that even for those few persons who will now start cooking it is worth while to add this recipe.

Makaronia

In Greek the word “makaronia” is equivalent to pasta, usually referring to long pasta such as spaghetti, linguine etc. 

In Cyprus the Greek recipe Pastitsio is called “Makaronia tou Fournou” which translates as long pasta baked in the oven.

It is also used as an adjective to describe how the Greek pasta “Hylopites” are. 

There are two kind of “hylopites” the long ones, which are called “Makarounotes Hylopites“, which means long hylopites and the smaller ones, which are cut into very small pieces are just called hylopites.

The Greek meat sauce (kimas) vs Bolognese

The Greek sauce is similar to Bolognese, although usually there is no wine in it nor any milk or cream.

The spices used are also very different and usually cinnamon, allspice berries (some people also use nutmeg or cloves) and the bay leaf, are the flavours that prevail.

How to make the Greek Meat Sauce

Step 1. To start, you first finely chop the onion or use a food processor to do the job.

Step 2. Then finely chop the garlic.    

Step 3. Put the saucepan on high heat and add extra virgin Olive Oil to heat.   Start by sautéing the onion, until translucent.  Then add the garlic and sauté it for a few seconds until fragrant.

Step 4.  Now add in your minced veal and using a large cooking spoon quickly get it moving in the saucepan until it starts changing colour from red to an almost grayish colour.

Step 5. While sautéing the minced veal, put the carrot and celery in the food processor and give it a couple of swirls to mince them.  (If you are not using a food processor, grate the carrot ahead before starting and finely chop the celery).  Add the grated carrot and celery into the saucepan, and using the spoon, mix them well, together with the minced meat.      

Step 6. Now add the passata.  (You can also use grated tomatoes without the skin and add a tablespoon of tomato paste as well).

Step 7.  Now add some homemade stock. You can use meat stock, chicken stock or vegetable stock.  If you don’t have any stock, you can use a bouillon and some water.

Step 8.  Add the spices:  ground black pepper, cinnamon stick, allspice berries, oregano, thyme, bay leaf and salt.

Step 9.  Cover the saucepan and simmer on low, for about an hour or until the minced meat is cooked and the sauces thickens. 

Step 10. Discard the cinnamon stick, allspice berries and bay leaf. Don’t worry how to remove them. The allspice berries always float on top and the cinnamon and bay leaf are easy to trace them.

Step 11. Once the meat sauce is ready, turn off the heat and mix in the parsley. 

Step 12. Prepare the pasta: Bring plenty of water to boil and add the salt as well as the pasta and boil according to the directions on package. Stir the pasta occasionally so that they will not stick together.

Step 13: Drain the pasta and serve immediately with some grated cheese and the meat sauce on top.

Note:

Grated cheese:

In Greece we usually use grated myzithra cheese, kefalograviera, graviera, or halloumi.

Pasta:

After cooking the pasta, if you are not serving it right away, add 2 tbsp olive oil after draining the pasta, so that they will not stick together.

Can I make the Sauce Vegan?

Some times I make a vegan version of this recipe and don’t add any meat in it.

I just omit the meat and either replace it with oyster mushrooms or if I don’t have any I use other mushrooms.

Of course, if you don’t like mushrooms, you just make a simple tomato sauce with all the remaining ingredients.   

Can I freeze the meat sauce?

Yes, of course you can. The same applies for the mushroom sauce or tomato sauce.

I always make sure to make more so that I have leftovers and store it in the freezer.

Let it cool and put it in containers or zip lock bags. Store it in the freezer up to three months.

To use it, thaw it before reheating it, either in a pot or in the microwave.

If you have a small amount which is leftover, you can use it on pizza, as a filling to bread rolls and on peinirli.

Scroll further down for a Chicken Mince Sauce, adjusted for Gallbladder Diet

Chicken Mince Sauce, adjusted for Gallbladder Diet

The same recipe has been adapted for Gallbladder Diet using less olive oil and chicken mince.  The remaining ingredients are almost the same as the other recipe.

Disclaimer:   I’m not a doctor, I’m not a surgeon and I’m not a dietician. Each person may have different symptoms, so please consult your doctor before following this diet.

The serving should be small with no cheese on top of pasta or with just a little low fat cheese.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

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