One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g minced beef, 15% fat
• 300 g short dried pasta (macaroni)
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g)
• 2 carrots (about 200 g)
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 beef stock cube + 600 ml hot water
• 2 tbsp ketchup + 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 100 g grated cheddar
• 4 gherkins (about 40 g)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large sauté pan with lid
• Grater
• Wooden spoon
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife

📖 Steps

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the carrots and grate them finely: they will melt into the sauce and the kids won't see them. Cut the gherkins into small dice and set aside for the end.
2. Heat the sauté pan over a high heat, without any fat, and crumble in the minced beef. Leave it to sear for 2 min without touching it, then break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for another 3 min, until well browned with no pink remaining.
3. Lower to a medium heat, add the onion and grated carrots and cook for 4 min, stirring, until the onion turns translucent. The fat released by the meat is enough, no need to add oil.
4. Dissolve the stock cube in 600 ml hot water. Pour the chopped tomatoes, stock, ketchup and mustard into the sauté pan, mix well while scraping the bottom and bring to the boil.
5. Add the dried pasta, push it down into the liquid and cook over a medium heat, uncovered, for the time shown on the packet plus 2 min (about 12 min). Stir every 2 min, scraping the bottom well, or the pasta will stick.
6. Stop cooking when the pasta is tender and the sauce, well reduced, coats it while staying creamy. If the bottom dries out before the end, add a small glass of hot water; if there is too much liquid left, cook for 2 min more.
7. Off the heat, sprinkle over the grated cheddar, cover for 2 min so it melts, then stir to get a gooey, stringy sauce. Taste, add only a little salt (the stock and cheese are already salty), season with pepper and serve sprinkled with the diced gherkins.