Penne Bolognese

I'm learning to be a bit adventurous with the dishes that I prepare and the one I prepared today is no exception.  You may know this recipe better by it's usual name that is Spaghetti Bolognese but I've decided to replace the spaghetti with penne.  And instead of putting the meatball sauce on top of the spaghetti and served, I've tried to layer the different ingredients of this pasta dish.

Actually the missus has been asking me to prepare Spaghetti Bolognese for quite some time now, but I have always found some excuse or other to get out of preparing it.  But since today is such a wonderful day and I'm in such a wonderful mood, I've decided to do it.  I did, however, tell her that I'm giving the dish a twist and she said it's okay.  Everyone loved the dish actually, except my second daughter who thought the tomato sauce was a bit sour (how many kilos of sugar did she expect me to put in the sauce??)  The preparation and ingredients are the same; only difference is the assembly!

6 pieces beef patties (I used Ramly Burger!)
1 large white onion, finely diced

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

2 cans of ready-made tomato ragout

2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped

300g penne (or whatever pasta you have in your larder!)

1 tsp Oregano (I used Italian seasoning!)

200g Cheddar, grated (I actually forgot I had mozzarella in the fridge!)

1tbs olive oil

1. Make the patties into small balls and fry them until done (I got about forty!)

2. Boil the penne until just under el dente, because you will be cooking it with the sauce later.

3. Make the sauce by first sweating the onion in some olive oil followed by the garlic and chopped tomatoes.  When the tomatoes starts to break up, pour in the tomato ragout.  Adjust the seasoning and simmer until slightly thick.

4. Assembling: Put the cooked penne into a casserole dish and spoon half of the tomato sauce on top.  Spread with half of the grated cheese.  Then arrange the meat balls on top of this, ladle the rest of the tomato sauce over it followed by the rest of the cheese.

5. Bake in a 180 C oven for about 35 minutes.  Serve hot!