An authentic Greek Lasagna recipe to recreate this traditional delight just like my grandma used to make it.
Pastitsio is a creamy, cheesy pasta dish that is sometimes called Greek lasagna, but it's made with large tubular pasta.
Pastitsio is a favorite traditional Greek dinner recipe.
Ingredients of Rich pastitsio
- You need of Mince.
- You need 700 g of beef mince.
- Prepare 1 of large dry onion.
- Prepare 2 of large peeled tomatoes.
- You need 1 of medium green pepper.
- You need 1 cup of oil (approximately).
- It's 3/4 cups of white wine.
- You need 3/4 cups of tomato Passata (approximately).
- Prepare of salt.
- Prepare of cinnamon (powder).
- You need clove of (powder).
- You need of nutmeg (powder).
- Prepare of water.
- You need of Pasta.
- Prepare of macaroni No3 (usually long, thick, hollow pasta).
- Prepare of butter.
- You need of Bechamel sauce.
- Prepare of Bechamel sauce.
- Prepare 130-150 g of corn flour.
- You need 1 1/2 l of fresh milk (approximately).
- It's 2 of eggs.
- It's 2 of full tbsp butter.
- Prepare of salt.
- You need of cinnamon (powder).
- You need of nutmeg (powder).
- You need of Cheeses.
- You need 1 kg of grated cheeses (regato, graviera, kasseri) (approximately).
Rich pastitsio step by step
- Using a pot, lightly sauté the grated onion and the mince at medium temperature..
- When these are ready, add the tomato (grated), the pepper, finely chopped, quite a bit of cinammon and clove and a little bit of nutmeg, stir well to combine the flavors and cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on so that the liquids are absorbed..
- Then deglaze with the wine, put the lid back on and let the mince cook for five more minutes..
- Add about 1,5 to 2 glasses of water and let the food cook for about half an hour..
- After half an hour of cooking add the Passata, stir well and add water (about 1 cup), add salt, stir again and let the mince cook for another half hour till all the juices are absorbed..
- Take the pot off the heat and let the mince cool for a while..
- Prepare the pasta. Boil it in salty water and drain to get rid of the excess water. Then, put it in a baking tray, spread it and let it cool..
- Place the milk and corn flour in a pot stirring constantly with a whisk over medium heat. After a while, as the milk starts to boil, the mixture will start to thicken. Withdraw from the fire and keep on whisking. It might be necessary, according to how thick the bechamel is, to add a bit of milk or corn flour accordingly (just remember to whisk vigorously so that the bechamel doesn't get lumpy). Add two full tbsp of butter and let it cool for a while..
- Take small pieces of butter with your hands and butter the pasta well. Add half of the cheeses and mix all the ingredients together. Using your hands spread the pasta in the tray..
- Pour the mince over the pasta so that it goes everywhere and add half of the remaining cheeses spreading the mix with a spoon so that it is even..
- Back to the bechamel now. Add the eggs and stir very well. Add a bit of salt, quite a bit of cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg and stir again. Then add the rest of the cheeses to the bechamel and stir them with a fork or a whisk so that they combine well..
- Finally, pour the bechamel on the tray and shake it so that it goes everywhere and there are no uncovered places..
- Bake in medium temperature (we have already preheated the oven) for about 1 hour till it goldens to the nice colour that we all know!.
I had guests in from out of town this weekend, so pastitsio seemed like a great way to impress. Cinnamon and nutmeg add a warm, spicy note to noodles covered in a This creamy casserole of pasta and meat sauce—covered with a creamy, rich béchamel—is enjoyed. Greek lasagna from my friend's Greek grandma ~ layers of cinnamon-lace beef, Kasseri cheese and creamy béchamel sauce. Spoon half of the prepared ziti evenly in the I have tried several pastitsio recipes this is by far the best and most authentic. As a general rule, pair the heartier sauces with the wider noodles: Wide ribbons like pappardelle pair well with rich, meaty sauces while the thinner flat noodles.
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