Baked Spaghetti
MA'KARONI BI SSANIEH
- 1 lb. spaghetti
- 2 cups ground or chopped meat, preferably lamb
- 1/2 cup fat
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 1/2 fresh cups tomato juice
- 1 smadlln can tomato paste
- 1 cup finaly chopped onions
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- Grated cheese (Parmesan or Lebanese Kashkawan)
Break spaghetti in 2-inch lengths and boil in salted water
until tender. Drain. Prepare sauce. Fry onions in fat until tender.
Add meat and brown lightly. Add pine nuts. Season with salt,
pepper and cinnamon. Add tomato juice and tomato paste with
water. Cook under pressure 15 minutes, or simmer gently on top
of stove for 30 minutes until sauce thickens. Add salt to taste.
Stir spaghetti into sauce, mixing well. Pour into baking dish,
sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in moderate oven until
piping hot and cheese is melted. Serves 8.
Villagers who have no ovens of their own prepare this
spaghetti at home and then carry it to the town bakery. Or
they may not bake it at all, but simply pour the hot sauce over
the boiled spaghetti, cook it for a few minutes, sprinkle it with
cheese and call it a meal.
(From Food from the Arab World Marie
Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge, Khayat's, Beirut 1959)
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