Beef Cavatappi

Ingredients

• 500g ground beef
• 340g cavatappi
• 320g sweet capsicum
• 2 yellow onions
• 50g baby spinach
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic puree
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 2 tbsp beef broth concentrate
• 1 tbsp oil
• pinch salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Core, then cut pepper into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel, then cut the onion into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel, then mince or grate garlic.
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1 tbsp oil, then peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, 3-4 min. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer peppers to a plate. Set aside.
3. Reheat the same pot over medium-high. When hot, add beef and onions to the dry pot. Cook, breaking up beef into smaller pieces, until no pink remains, 4-5 min. Carefully drain and discard excess fat, if desired.
4. Add Tex-Mex paste, garlic, marinara sauce, broth concentrate, 5 cups water and 1 tsp salt to the pot with beef and onions. Stir to combine, then bring to boil over high. Once boiling, stir in cavatappi and reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered, stirring often to prevent sticking to the pot, until cavatappi is tender, 12-16 min. (TIP: If pasta is sticking too much, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape up any pieces that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.)
5. Add peppers and spinach to the pot with cavatappi. Cook, stirring often, until spinach wilts, 1-2 min. Season with pepper, to taste.
6. Divide Southwest beef and cavatappi between bowls. Sprinkle cheese over top.