Whether you’re a novice or an expert cook, or somewhere in between, you’ll want to add MAKARONIA ME KIMA to your repertoire. At very least you should know how to make the latter portion, the kima. In Greek, kima means minced, and in this case the word implies the minced or ground beef sauce. The kima alone will win friends and influence eaters. After all, once you have that special meat sauce, you can serve it like chili, pile between bread slices for sloppy joes, eat it plain, or serve it hot as we Greeks do over a bed of makaronia (any style of your favorable pasta). My favorite is the long noodle variety often used in pastitsio.

With makaronia me kima (mah-kah-ROH-neea meh kee-MAH) the meat sauce pretty much prepares itself once the ingredients begin simmering in the pot. How I love a practically effortless meal! All that’s left to do is boil your pasta and grate some flavorful cheese to top it off. Mizithra, Kefalotyri, or Parmesan cheese are standard. Don’t be stingy with the cheese because the combination of warm kima and cheese creates a wonderful gooey mixture. Want to fully bust that low carb diet? Bread. Lots of bread. And if watching carbs, a horiatiki salata puts this meal over the top. It’s simple and will satisfy you any night of the week.