Pastitsio the Greek way

When I started blogging I began recording my recipes and of course my favourite ones came first. However, back then only a few persons read my recipes. I posted the Cypriot version of pastitsio called Makaronia tou Fournou (oven baked pasta) and today I have made the Greek one, which is about the same but there are a few different ingredients to it, worth mentioning.

This is what Wikipedia writes about pastitsio:

“Pastitsio (Greek: παστίτσιο; [paˈsti.tsi.o]) is a Greek baked pasta dish.

Pastitsio is a layered baked dish. There are variations throughout the regions of Greece but typically the bottom layer is bucatini or other tubular pasta with cheese and egg as a binder; the second layer is ground meat (beef, veal or lamb) with tomato and cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice; the third is another layer of pasta; and the top layer varies from an egg-based custard to a flour-based Béchamel or a Béchamel with cheese known as Mornay sauce in France. Grated cheese is often sprinkled on top and a dusting of cinnamon and/or nutmeg makes the dish classically Greek.

Pastitsio is a common dish and is often served as a main course, with a salad. In cyprus it is an essential dish during celebrations such as easter, where it is served along with the spit roasted meat.

In many regions of Greece and Cyprus, pastitsio is called ‘macaronia tou fournou”. Pastitsio takes its name from the Italian pasticcio, also known as “Lasagna al Forno” in some regions of Italy. Lasagna al Forno is made instead with a flat noodle or sheet pasta called “lasagna” (from “lagana” in Classical and Modern Greek) instead of a tubular pasta. Lasagna al Forno / pasticcio is a baked pasta dish with many variations, usually containing no meat, just vegetables and a dough crust, some of which include ragù with a custard or Béchamel topping, still some with no Béchamel and Riccotta cheese instead and typically contain more tomato or tomato sauce than Greek Pastitsio variations.^“

Greek Pastitsio

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (500 grs.) of tubular spaghetti No. 3 or No. 6
• 1 cup of grated graviera or myzithra cheese

For filling:

• ½ kilo ground beef
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes peeled and blended  (or 1 can 500 grams of whole tomatoes, blended)
• ½ cup of dry white wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Oregano
• Ground allspice
• Cumin

Bechamel sauce

See recipe and step by step instructions here.

Directions:

1. Sauté the ground meat and add the onion and the garlic and sauté until translucent.
   Add wine and stir until it evaporates and add salt, pepper, cumin, allspice, oregano and tomatoes. Simmer until it is cooked and most of the juices evaporate, add parsley stir and remove from the heat.
2. Preparing the béchamel sauce<
3. In a sauce pan heat butter, add flour and stir until slightly browned. Add salt and nutmeg and mix. Add warm milk stirring continuously until a thick cream is made and remove from heat.
4. Beat eggs and add a spoonful at a time stirring until absorbed. Continue until eggs are absorbed.
5. Add half the cheese (reserving the remaining to sprinkle in pasta and on top).
6. Preparing the pasta
7. Boil water and add salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. Boil pasta al dente and remove from heat. Place in cold water and then strain. Mix some of the cheese in the pasta.
8. In a baking tin add half pasta and dilute 3 spoonfuls of béchamel cream with some milk to make a thinner cream and add to pasta and mix. If we do not add the cream our pasta will not stick together but will spread in the plate during serving.
9. Put the ground meat on top and add remaining pasta. Sprinkle some grated cheese and nutmeg.
10. Add béchamel sauce to cover pasta. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes or until a golden brown.

Tags: beef, Ground meat, Pasta, Traditional