Meatball Pasta Gratin

Ingredients

• 400 g whole‑grain fusilli
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 shallots
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 carrots
• 5 beef tomatoes
• 1 bunch mixed herbs (e.g., basil, parsley, thyme)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g ground beef
• 70 g tomato paste
• 200 ml meat broth
• Salt
• Pepper
• 100 g mozzarella (45% fat in solids)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the pasta according to package instructions until very firm, drain and set aside.

2. 2.

   While the pasta cooks, peel and finely chop the garlic and shallots. Halve the bell peppers, remove seeds, wash and dice them. Peel the carrots and grate them finely. Cut the tomatoes into cubes. Wash the herbs, shake dry, pluck the leaves and finely chop them. In a large pan heat 1 tbsp oil, sauté the shallots with the garlic for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the peppers and grated carrot, stir and cook for 3–5 minutes in their own juices, then remove from the pan.

3. 3.

   Heat the remaining oil in the pan and brown the ground beef over medium heat for 5 minutes until crumbly. Stir in the tomato paste, pour in the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5–10 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables and cubed tomatoes, bring the sauce back to a boil and season with herbs, salt and pepper. Mix the pasta into the sauce.

4. 4.

   Dice the mozzarella finely, fold half into the pasta mixture and transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top and bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (or 180 °C fan‑forced) for about 20 minutes until golden.

5. 5.