Pastitsio (greek pasta bake). It's ideal for a delicious Sunday dinner and it also freezes very well. Heat olive oil in a pan and cook garlic, onions and beef mince until meat is browned. We love baked pastas here including Baked Mac and Cheese, Baked Million Dollar Spaghetti and Ultimate Meat Lasagna because they have crispy toppings and can feed a huge crowd!
The layers of pasta, meat sauce, cheese, and creamy bechamel sauce go together so well.
The kids usually flock to the side of the table that this tray is sitting on and in the blink of an eye, it's all gone.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
You can cook Pastitsio (greek pasta bake) using 16 ingredients and 4 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
Ingredients of Pastitsio (greek pasta bake)
- You need 500 grams of (gluten free) pasta e.g. fusilli.
- Prepare 1 of sea salt.
- You need 1 of extra virgin olive oil.
- It's 500 ml of (semi-skimmed) milk.
- Prepare 3 tsp of margarine.
- Prepare 6 tbsp of corn flour.
- It's 2 tsp of grated nutmeg.
- Prepare 500 grams of minced veal or extra lean beef.
- You need 250 ml of tomato passata.
- It's 1 large of onion, finely squared.
- You need 1 clove of garlic, finely grated.
- Prepare 1 tsp of grated cinammon.
- Prepare 2 tsp of allspice.
- You need 2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper.
- You need 1/2 cup of red dry wine or 1/4 cup cognac.
- Prepare 1 cup of grated goat's cheese (e.g. feta).
Basically it is pasta in a bolognese-type sauce topped with a simple Béchamel sauce and baked in the oven. This is how you will eat the dish in almost every Greek household or restaurant. Three essential components make up this dish—pasta, meat filling, and a creamy bechamel sauce— which are layered in a pan and baked to a golden brown. Watch the video in sign language here.
Pastitsio (greek pasta bake) instructions
- Boil the pasta in salted water and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil , until al dente. Then drain. You shouldn't need to rinse with cold water, because you added oil during boiling..
- Boil the milk in a pan and then reduce the heat. Add the margarine and cornflour ehile continuously stiring to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan. I used a hand mixer at a slow speed. When the sause is slightly thick , you add the nutmeg and set aside..
- In another pan, you saute the minced meat. When brown and all juices are reduced, you add the finely chopped onion and grated garlic until transparent and flavour the minced meat. Then you pour either the wine or cognac. If kids are sharing this dish, then you can skip the alcohol. Then in go the passata and spices. You reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until you get a thick sauce with some juice left..
- In a baking tray, you place half of the pasta with some grated cheese and a scoop of the white sauce whle mixing everything evenly. Then you pour on top of the pasta mix, all the minced meat sauce with a scoop of the white sauce. Finally, you place the remaining pasta with some grated cheese ontop of the previous layers. At the end, you pour the remaining white sauce and grated cheese on top of the final pasta layer. You bake for 20- 30 minutes in a pre- heated oven (at 180oC) or until the top layer becomes golden (I know mine looks more brown :-) )..
Place a pan over high heat. Deep, rich and hearty, this baked pasta dish has roots in Greece and the Middle East. My husband made this recipe for us a couple of months ago. It's not my favorite version; I found the cream sauce way too starchy and pasty. Get the recipe with video and step by step pictures too.