Pasta Casserole (Pastitsio)
Photo: Robert Kindermann, CC BY-SA 2.5
Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta with a spiced meat layer under a thick bechamel. This version is built on the stove and only browned in the oven, a habit from Greek villages where one shared oven was used for the bread first. A little cinnamon in the meat sauce gives it its Greek character. It also freezes well, so a single batch feeds you for weeks.
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the chopped onions until they turn translucent. Add the minced meat and cook until it is well browned.
Tip in the canned tomatoes with their liquid, then add the tomato paste, water, wine, beef stock powder and cinnamon. Simmer uncovered until the sauce is thick. Move it to a mixing bowl and let it cool completely, then stir in the lightly beaten egg.
Melt the butter in the pan, add the flour and stir over the heat until it bubbles. Take the pan off the heat and add the milk gradually. The mixture will thicken and then loosen again as the milk goes in.
Return the pan to the heat and cook until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in the first measure of Parmesan until melted and smooth, then move the bechamel to a bowl and cool it slightly before mixing in the egg yolks.
Boil the pasta according to the packet directions until tender, then drain it. Mix the hot pasta in a bowl with the two beaten eggs and the Parmesan or Feta.
Grease a baking dish and press the pasta mixture into the base. Spread the meat sauce over the pasta, pour the bechamel over the meat and smooth the top. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the surface.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown. Let the dish rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
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