Stavros's Greek Spaghetti

Ingredients (Pasta) 

Spaghetti (16 oz. package)
OR you can use Angel Hair (Capellini) or Penne pasta (16 oz. package)
Cloves of garlic (1-2), finely chopped
Salted Butter, 4 tablespoons
Stavros Olive Company Olive Oil (any varietal), 4 tablespoons
Dried Parsley, 2 tablespoons
Parmesan Cheese (freshly grated), ½ cup
Salt, ½ teaspoon
Pepper, ¼ teaspoon
Red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon (Optional) 

Directions 

1. Bring a large pot of water and salt to a boil. Quickly cook the pasta for about 3-4 minutes
2. Add the pasta and cook according to the packaging directions, tasting at 2 minutes. For al dente, you're looking at 2–3 minutes; fully cooked is 3–4 minutes. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water before draining. Drain in a colander.
3. Return the empty pasta pot to the stovetop over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter, and let them melt together.
4. Once the butter starts to foam, add the thinly sliced garlic cloves. Sauté the garlic, stirring constantly, for 1–1.5 minutes until it just starts to turn golden at the edges. Remove the large pan from the heat immediately.
5. Add the cooked pasta, parsley, and red pepper flakes (optional) to the pot.
6. Toss everything together until the pasta is evenly coated. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Add olive oil and toss. 
7. Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, set aside and top with Greek meat sauce (recipe below) and sprinkle with plenty of parmesan cheese.

Ingredients (Greek Meat Sauce) 

This Greek meat sauce recipe can be used in many pies, pastas, or in stuffed vegetable dishes (such as stuffed tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant).

Stavros Olive Company olive oil (any varietal), 4 tablespoons
Medium sized yellow onions, 2- peeled and diced 
Garlic cloves, 2- finely chopped 
2 celery stalks, peeled and diced
Dried oregano, 1 teaspoon 
Fresh thyme, 1 sprig
Fresh flat leaf parsley, 3 tablespoons finely chopped
Lean ground beef, 2 pounds Red wine, ½ cup
Tomatoes, fresh or canned (15 oz) - chopped
Tomato paste, 1 tablespoon 
Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon
Allspice, 1 teaspoon 
Bay Leaves, 2 leaves
Salt 
Freshly ground pepper 
Tomato sauce (8 oz can-optional)

Directions

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, celery, parsley, oregano, and thyme for about 5 minutes or until softened. Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the saucepan and sauté the ground beef, stirring constantly – for about 10 minutes or until the meat has browned.
3. Add the red wine, tomato paste, tomatoes, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, salt & pepper and sauté for another 5 minutes. Optional: Add 8 oz can of tomato sauce if you want to reduce the thickness of the sauce. 
4. Return the onion, garlic and celery mixture to the saucepan and stir well.
5. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 45 to 60 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Makes about 5 cups. Top the meat sauce over cooked pasta as described above.