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Pastitio
Can be prepared the day before and reheated easily, sliced into portions, the Greek version of lasagne
Ingredients
Meat sauce
300 g lamb mince
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400g can diced tomatoes
100 ml red wine or water
2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
˝ cup water
Pasta
200 g tubular pasta, e.g. penne
Béchamel sauce
40 g butter
2 tablespoon plain flour
200 ml milk, slightly heated
Topping
1 egg, lightly beaten
50 g Parmesan (or hard sheep's milk cheese), grated
Preparation
Preheat oven to 190°C.
Heat oil in a medium-sized pan and add onions and garlic. Cook for 5 10 minutes until soft and transparent.
Add minced lamb and cook for a further 5 10 minutes, stirring thoroughly to brown.
Add canned tomatoes, red wine or water and all remaining meat sauce ingredients.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste test and season as required with salt and pepper.
For pasta, bring a medium-sized pan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook for approximately 10 minutes until just soft.
It will continue to cook in the oven so there is no need for the al dente test.
Drain pasta in a colander and leave to rest while you make the béchamel (white) sauce.
Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour. Mix to a smooth paste over a gentle heat.
Take off heat and whisk in warm milk.
Return to the heat and gently bring to a simmer, stirring continuously. Remove from heat.
To make up the pastitio, spoon a layer of pasta into a lightly oiled ovenproof dish.
Follow with a layer of meat sauce and pasta and repeat until it is all used up.
Then spoon over the béchamel sauce and lastly the combined beaten egg and grated cheese, for a crispy topping.
Bake for at least 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown on top.
Serves 4 - 6
This recipe is from the cookbook Minced, by Sue Hamilton and Dana Alexander cook book available at all good booksellers.