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I love them all but there’s another one that I go crazy for because it’s so incredible and it’s Pastitsio! This meat pasta dish is so delicious because it has several layers of yumminess! First the bucatini pasta is laid down before spooning on a hearty meat sauce made with ground beef, ground lamb and other great ingredients. It would be tasty as is, but there’s another awesome layer added… a beautifully rich Béchamel Sauce sprinkled with Kefalotyri cheese which gives a nice salty addition to it.
The meat sauce has amazing ingredients. First, there’s a mix of ground beef and lamb. Most recipes out there use strictly beef but by adding both, it brings more flavor to it. There’s also a bunch of herbs and spices in this one but what sets it apart from the other sauces is the added cinnamon and cloves. It gives a unique taste to the sauce, making it very “Greek”. Another aspect is that the texture is much thicker. The reason behind this is to have the layers distinctly separated for a nice, neat presentation.
Let’s talk about a couple of possible substitutions here…
Bucatini pasta looks like spaghetti but with a hole running through the center. The long narrow tube gives the traditional look of the Pastitsio dish when served. I use #2 and the best place to find it is at specialty grocers or online. If you can’t find any, don’t despair. To recreate a similar resemblance, ziti or penne can be used instead.
When it comes to cheese, I like to use the traditional Kefalotyri which is perfect for this recipe! It’s made from goat or sheep’s milk. Others prefer using Kasseri… I’m not a fan of it! In case you can’t find these cheeses, a great substitute is either Parmesan or Romano… They’re similar in texture and have the same sharp flavor. Oh my, I can see my Greek girlfriend Maria raising her eyebrows in disapproval. Joking aside, it’s totally fine to use either one although they’re saltier than Kefalotyri cheese.
After years of making Pastitsio, I recently found out that Béchamel Sauce wasn’t a traditional ingredient until the early 1900s’. Influenced by French cuisine, a well-known Greek chef named Nikólaos Tselementés, put a modern twist on this mouthwatering dish. He also introduced other French recipes to Greek home cooks.
Assembling the dish is quite easy. First you need a 9×13-inch baking dish but it has to be deep enough, about 2 ¾-inch to 3-inch high – I use a Le Creuset Rectangular Roaster. After the noodles are cooked, they are tossed with egg whites and cheese. These ingredients help the pasta to stick together better when it’s time to cut and serve. From there, they’re laid out in the dish lengthwise in one direction to get that nice visual effect. Then the meat sauce is evenly spooned over followed by some cheese and then comes the béchamel and finally more grated cheese is sprinkled on top. It’s baked in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes at 350ºF before putting it under low broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until nicely browned. It’s then removed from the heat to rest for at least 15 minutes. The longer it sits, the better it will hold its shape when it’s time to cut it for the typical presentation of this traditional dish.
If you’ve never had this rich casserole before, it has to be on your “must try” list this season. This Pastitsio is packed with wonderful flavors! It’s like having Italian lasagna in a Greek way. After you try this gorgeous baked pasta dish, you’ll understand why I love it so much….
Bon Appétit!
Here are several more delicious Greek inspired recipes for you to enjoy…
– Avgolemono Chicken Soup
– Greek Ouzo Pork Kebabs
– Prawn Saganaki
– Greek Lemon Rosemary Potatoes coming on May 19th, 2022
– Greek Pizza
– Spanakopita
– Greek Dolmades with Avgolemono Sauce
and for even more pasta recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Pasta & Pizza
For ingredient amounts, directions and much more, visit https://clubfoody.com/cf-recipes/pastitsio/
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