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Nests of pasta with minced meat and cheese in a frying pan

Pasta Nests with Ground Meat and Cheese (Skillet)

Simple, made from everyday ingredients, for a family dinner! Pasta nests with ground meat and cheese cooked in a skillet are a great option for a hearty, tasty dish that's a side and a main in one. You don't even need to boil the pasta separately — it cooks right in the broth in the skillet.

katushafin

Recipe author

Nests of pasta with minced meat and cheese in a frying pan

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pasta nests

450

Ground meat

500

Meat broth

500

Onion

Hard cheese

130

Fresh herbs

Pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 23 % 10 g

Fats 30 % 13 g

Carbohydrates 47 % 20 g

240 kcal

GI: 5 / 95 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 35 min

Step 1:

How do you make pasta nests with ground meat and cheese in a skillet? Gather the ingredients. For the meat, you can use ground chicken, pork, or turkey. Use good-quality pasta made from durum wheat — it won't fall apart. You can use water instead of broth. The broth should be salted.
Step 2:

Peel and chop the onion however is easiest. I usually grate it, but you can use a meat grinder, a food chopper, or a blender, or just chop it finely with a knife. Add the onion, salt, and pepper to the ground meat and mix it well. Add any spices you like. You can also add chopped garlic.
Step 3:

Take a skillet with sides tall enough for the nests to fit standing up. Arrange the nests in it. Shape the ground meat into little balls and gently tuck the meat into the openings of the nests.
Step 4:

Pour broth into the skillet so it reaches about 2/3 of the way up the pasta.
Step 5:

Bring the broth to a boil, cover the skillet, and let the dish cook over low heat for 20–30 minutes.
Step 6:

Keep an eye on the liquid. Once it has cooked off and the time is up, sprinkle the nests with grated cheese. Cover and wait for the cheese to melt, then turn off the heat. The dish is ready. It's best to serve the nests right away, while they're hot. Enjoy!

I really liked the idea of cooking pasta in a skillet. The key is not to let the liquid boil away. The pasta cooked through completely, turned soft, but didn't fall apart, and the meat was done too. The dish tasted like lasagna. You can also make these meat-filled nests in the oven or a slow cooker. In the skillet you'll use for the nests, you can first make a sauté of onion, carrot, and tomato paste. Then the pasta will be in a sauce, which is even tastier. For the sauce you can use a cream sauce, a sour cream sauce, or a tomato one. Just make the sauce in the skillet first, then add the meat-filled nests. Choose herbs to your taste — we love basil, but parsley or dill works too.
For how to cook pasta properly, how to cook it al dente, how to choose a good-quality product to avoid disappointment, and much more, see the article "Pasta and noodles — the ins and outs of choosing and cooking."
Any cheese works for this dish — hard, semi-hard, or soft like mozzarella. The main thing is that it's tasty, good quality, free of milk-fat substitutes, and melts well.
Important! The wrong skillet can ruin even the best recipe. For all the details on choosing the perfect skillet for different dishes, read here.