Cookbook:Pasta Casserole (Pastitsio)

Pasta Casserole (Pastitsio)
Category	Pasta recipes
Difficulty

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This recipe for pastitsio has been improved on over the generations. The reason why this is cooked on the stove top & only browned in the oven is that in Greek villages there was a shared village oven. So dishes like these were popular as they could be browned after the bread had been baked.

Ingredients

Meat sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 750 g minced meat
• 400–450 g canned chopped tomatoes
• ⅓ cup tomato paste
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon beef stock powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 egg, beaten lightly

Greek-style bechamel sauce

• 100 g butter
• ½ cup plain flour
• 3½ cups milk
• 1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 egg yolks

Pasta mix

• 250 g macaroni pasta (or Greek pastitsio noodles)
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• ¾ cup grated fresh Parmesan or Feta cheese

Assembly

• 2 tablespoons stale breadcrumbs

Equipment

• 2.5-litre (10-cup) baking dish (metal, glass or ceramic are fine)
• 2 large saucepans for meat sauce and pasta
• 1 medium-to-large saucepan for Bechamel sauce

Procedure

Meat sauce

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent.
2. Add the minced meat, and cook until well browned.
3. Add the chopped canned tomatoes, liquid and all.
4. Add the tomato paste, water, wine, beef stock powder, and cinnamon powder. Simmer uncovered until it becomes thick in consistency.
5. Once thick transfer into a mixing bowl to cool.
6. Once cool, stir in egg.

Greek-style Bechamel sauce

1. Melt the butter in pan.
2. Add the flour, and stir well over heat until bubbling.
3. Remove pan from heat, and gradually add the milk. The mixture will become thick and will then thin again.
4. Return pan to heat, and cook until sauce bubbles then thickens.
5. Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted and smooth.
6. Transfer to mixing bowl and cool slightly.
7. Mix in the egg yolks.

Pasta mix

1. Boil the pasta as per directions on packet until tender.
2. Drain pasta, and transfer to mixing bowl.
3. Mix the hot pasta with the Parmesan cheese and eggs.

Assembly

1. Grease baking dish.
2. Press pasta mix into base of pan.
3. Top pasta mix with the meat sauce.
4. Pour the Bechamel sauce over the meat sauce, then smooth the top.
5. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.
6. In a preheated oven, bake at 180°C (350°F) for 1 hour until golden brown.
7. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Notes, tips, and variations

• To avoid a large clean up at the end, just reuse the same saucepan.
• Leftovers freeze well, so it is a great freezer cooking dish.
• It is a good idea to start your meat sauce first as this needs to cool before you can begin construction.