Higgledy-piggledy Greek beef pasta bake
Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Higgledy-piggledy Greek beef pasta bake
Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
652Kcal
Fat
20gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
61gr
Sugars
16gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
47gr
Salt
0.9gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
For the braised beef
- beef brisket joint, about 900g in weight
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 medium onions, cut into wedges
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried oregano, or 1 tbsp fresh leaves
- 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 medium orange
- 4 large vine tomatoes, quartered
- 250ml red wine
- 2 tbsp clear honey
To finish
- 500g fresh egg penne (or 300g dried penne)
- 150g feta, crumbled
- 2 tsp olive oil
- fresh oregano leaves to garnish, optional
Step by step
Get ahead
Prepare to the end of step 4, cool and keep chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze. Reheat before continuing (defrost first if frozen), adding about 100ml water.
- Preheat the oven to 140°C, fan 120°C, gas 1. Season the beef brisket all over. Heat the oil in a deep casserole (about 4 litre capacity) and brown the beef on all sides over a high heat (this will take about 5 minutes, turning regularly). Remove the beef and set aside on a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the fat left in the casserole. Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly coloured.
- Add the tomato purée, oregano, garlic cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, then cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Pare 4 strips of zest from the orange, and squeeze the juice. Add these to the casserole with the tomatoes, wine, honey and some seasoning. Nestle the beef in among the sauce and vegetables. Bring to the boil, cover with a close fitting lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 4-5 hours or until the beef is fall-apart tender (the timing will depend on the size and shape of your joint of beef).
- Lift the beef out onto a plate or board. Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks from the sauce (the orange zest will be soft enough to eat). Remove the garlic cloves and squeeze the soft flesh into the sauce. Remove any binding string from the beef and then coarsely shred the meat using 2 forks (discarding any fat). Stir the meat back into the sauce and check the seasoning.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Tip the penne into a large pan of salted boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes until just starting to soften; it should still have quite a bite to it. Drain well in a colander.
- Spoon the still-warm beef into a baking dish (you can use a single large baking dish or divide it between smaller dishes, as you wish) and add the penne, standing it upright as far as possible so that you get lovely crunchy 'caught' ends as it bakes. Scatter over the feta and drizzle with the olive oil. Transfer the dish to a baking tray and cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until the beef is bubbling and the penne is slightly crunchy on top. Scatter with the oregano leaves just before serving.
