Making my version of Pastitsio.

[Lunabell]

Last edited Sun Nov 22, 2020, 06:16 PM - Edit history (4)

My wife has an allergy to tomatoes and black pepper and has a textural aversion to cooked onions. So, this is a recipe I came up with to approximate Pastsio.




BECHAMEL SAUCE:
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 quart whole milk, warmed until hot
1½ teaspoons salt
3 large eggs

MAIN DISH:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
11/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsps cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water
1 heaping tbsp bouillon
1/2 cup red wine
8 cloves minced garlic

1 pound ziti pasta
3 large eggs, beaten
1½ teaspoons salt (optional, I'm just going to heavily salt water)
16 ounces grated cheeses Romano, Parmesan,  mozzarella, gruyere, gouda, feta etc.

Or more authentically: 12 to 16 ounces Kasseri or Kefalotiri cheese, grated.


INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARE THE BECHAMEL SAUCE:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and then gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in the salt, remove from heat and let cool. When the sauce is lukewarm, whisk in the eggs. Set aside.

PREPARE THE MEAT LAYER:

Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and saute until softened and golden. Crumble the beef and lamb into the skillet and cook until the beef is browned. Stir in the cinnamon, salt and pepper. Disolve the bouillon base in the water, pour in mixture and add wine. Simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.

PREPARE THE PASTA LAYER:

Cook ziti according to directions on the package.(al dente) Drain and rinse with cool water. When pasta has cooled down, stir in the beaten eggs and optionally stir in 1 1/2 tsp salt.

ASSEMBLE THE DISH:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a deep 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. You really need a deep casserole dish for this recipe (deeper than the usual 9x13-inch pyrex).

Scoop half of the pasta into the bottom of your prepared dish. Sprinkle generously with cheese. Spoon on the meat mixture to create an even layer; sprinkle with another layer of cheese. Scoop the remaining pasta on top of the meat and sprinkle with more cheese! Top with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake 45 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and golden on top. Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving (but it is suggested that you refrigerate to let the layers set... and then warm up later to serve.



On edit:
After making the dish I would leave out the eggs in the bechamel sauce, add more cheese and increase the wine in the meat sauce. And I added 1/4 cup milk to the eggs that were added to the noodles. Also, invest in a deep lasagna pan or use and aluminum disposable one you can find in the grocery store.

[Mme. Defarge]

1. Kali orexi!

My all time favorite Greek dish, and I have had the best of the best.

[flor-de-jasmim]

2. It sounds WONDERFUL. Were you providing alternative cheeses, or do you mix as many as possible?

[Lunabell]

4. I've never made it.

And the greek cheese is unavailable in my area. Most recipes say use parmesan instead, but I want ooze to my cheese and am going to use a mixture of gouda and parmesan.

[patricia92243]

3. I've tried several receipes and can't quite get it right. Putting lamb

AND beef sounds like a great idea. Bookmarked and will definitely try it.

[Lunabell]

5. If you like tomatoes and cooked onions

it's more traditional to add those.

[Kali]

6. try grating onion

hard on the eyes but might take care of texture problem. also cooking it down a bit longer will make onion pretty much dissolve. not sure what a good sub for tomatoes would be. your wine is probably what I would do as well.