Greek Meat Pasta (Makaronia me kima)

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ground beef until browned, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion, water, tomato paste, cinnamon, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. Simmer meat sauce over medium-low heat until flavors combine, 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Pour meat sauce over rotini; mix well. Pour half the pasta mixture into a casserole dish; sprinkle with half the Mizithra cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle remaining Mizithra cheese and mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes.

Cook's Note:

Mizithra cheese is a hard cheese (usually comes in the shape of a soft-ball sized ball). Mizithra cheese will not melt entirely, like regular cheese (lack of oil) and will mainly keep its shredded shape, but softened. You can find in it any international market, or where specialty cheeses are sold. If you can't find any, use shredded sharp cheddar with the mozzarella instead.