Pastitsio (Greece)
There are a lot, and I mean a lot of great things to love about Greek food. From nutty and creamy hummus to tender gyro to sweet and flaky baklava and even as simple as fruity olive oil.
And, of course, there is pastitsio, a delicious dish composed of long tubular pasta layered under meaty beef and tomato sauce spiked with a touch of cinnamon and a creamy bechamel on top, it is basically Greece’s version of lasagna. You pretty much can’t explore the Greek islands without trying pastitsio.
Today, I will show you how to make pastitsio the classic way, and hopefully it will bring the flavors of the isles to your home. Like lasagna, it makes delicious leftovers and is a great make-ahead dish.
Serves 8
For the Meat Sauce:
Olive oil
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
For the Bechamel Sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
A dash of grated nutmeg
3 oz finely grated Kefalotyri cheese (sub parmesan or pecorino if you can’t find), plus more for sprinkling
2 egg yolks (save whites for tossing with the pasta)
Salt and pepper
For the Pasta:
1 package of pastitsio pasta (ziti or bucatini also work)
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 egg whites
To make the meat sauce, heat a thin layer of olive oil in a Dutch oven or any heavy bottomed pot. Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is browned and no longer pink in the middle.
Add the onion and carrot, then cook a few minutes longer, until the onion is translucent. Make a well in the center of the meat, then add the garlic, oregano and tomato paste. Cook, stirring the tomato paste, for about a minute or until the paste turns a darker color, then mix that into the meat. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and cinnamon, bring that to a boil, then let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until thickened.
Meanwhile, make the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a separate medium pot over medium heat, then add the flour and cook for about a minute to get rid of any raw flour taste. Slowly add the milk, making sure to stop now and then to whisk out any lumps of flour. Bring that to a boil, then let it simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the nutmeg, cheese, and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for about 1-2 minutes less than what the package calls for al dente, remember that the pasta will continue to cook as the pastitsio bakes. Drain the pasta, then toss with the egg whites and feta.
To assemble, lay the pasta in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish, making sure that all or mostly all of the pasta strands face the same direction. (Lengthwise across the pan)
Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick from the meat sauce, season with salt and pepper, then top the pasta with the sauce, and spread into an even layer. Finally, top with all of the bechamel, making sure to spread into an even layer, then top with a generous grating of cheese.
(Make ahead: You can certainly make the pastitsio up until this point a day or two in advance, then bake it when it’s closer to dinner time)
Cover the whole pan with foil, then bake for about 30 minutes with the foil on, then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. (If you’d like a golden top, then switch on the broiler for about 1 or 2 minutes.) Let the pastitsio cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
