I am looking for a Greek dish

Yes, it's spelled pastitsio. Ina Garten makes a decent version.

I was on a Pastitsio recipe hunt a while back and found some that sound delicious! I will post a couple for you. Please forgive...sometimes when I get on a hunt for a recipe...I lose track of where I am on the web and forget to list the source of the recipe.

I have not tried any yet...still meaning to do so! Most will not say lamb (it is an ingredient I won't eat). Either I changed it to read a different meat or the recipe called for other meat...not sure. But either way...you can certainly use your preference of meat!

• Pastitsio
• Description
  Luscious layers of pasta and seasoned ground beef and pork topped with a creamy yogurt béchamel sauce baked to a golden brown perfection - a fantastic comfort food option.

Ingredients

greek extra virgin olive oil ½ cup

onion,chopped 1 cup

garlic cloves 4 super-sized

green bell pepper 1 medium

ground minced beef 2 ¼ lb.

ground pork 1 lb.

cognac ½ cup

cinnamon stick

cloves 4 whole

black pepper pinch

salt pinch

oregano pinch

tomatoes,crushed 3 large

tomato paste 2 Tablespoons

water 2 cups

penne pasta 1 bag (500 gr)

For the bechamel

butter (good quality) 1 stick

flour 5-6 Tablespoons

milk 4 cups

salt pinch

black pepper pinch

nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon

egg yolk 1

kefalotyri cheese 1/2 cup

greek yogurt 1 cup

kefalotyri cheese(sprinkle on top) 1-2 more cups

butter drizzle

How to cook

1. For the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes.

2. Add the beef and pork, and sauté over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until it's no longer pink, crumbling it with a wooden spoon.

3. Add the wine, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon stick, cloves, black pepper, salt, oregano, and continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, 2 cups of water and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Set aside. Don't forget to remove the cinnamon stick and cloves.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).

5. For the béchamel, in a medium saucepan melt one stick of butter. Add 5-6 tablespoons of flour stirring until it become a paste on a medium- high heat.

6. Add in small portions of the milk. Continue cooking and constantly whisking for 8 minutes or until the mixture thickens and is smooth.

7. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well.

8. Stir in 1/2 cup of Kefalotyri cheese; allow cooling for 10 minutes.

9. Stir in the egg and Greek yogurt and set aside.

10. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Don't over-cook because the pasta will later be baked. Drain and set aside.

11. In a large mixing bowl, add the pasta, meat and tomato sauce, and two large scoops of béchamel and mix well making sure to coat all the pasta. Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered baking dish and dust finely chopped bread crumbs.

12. Spread the remaining béchamel evenly to cover the pasta and sprinkle on the top the 1-2 cups of Kefalotyri cheese.

13. Lightly drizzle the remaining butter on the top and bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly.

14. Set aside for 15-20 minutes and serve hot.

Greek Pastitsio


Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins Servings: 6

8 ounces bucatini pasta or 8 ounces ziti pasta
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mint flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:


Cook macaroni; drain, and return to pan.

Stir in the melted butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup milk, and the egg; set aside.

In a a skillet or large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat.

Stir in tomato sauce, the 1 teaspoon salt, mint flakes (if used), cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside.

In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then mix in flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Slowly stir in the 2 cups milk, stirring well after each addition so that no lumps form.

Cook and stir on medium high until cream sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.

Beat egg in a small bowl, then pour into cream sauce, stirring briskly.

Blend in the 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

Layer half the pasta mixture in a 11" x 7" (or 2 quart) baking dish.

Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then the remaining pasta.

Pour cream sauce over top, to cover completely.

Bake, uncovered, at 350F for about 40 minutes, or until hot and lightly browned.

Let stand for 10 minutes.

Pastitsio by Evelyn/Athens

Ingredients:

Meat sauce

enough olive oil, to just coat the bottom of a large pot

2 large onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs lean ground meat

2 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice

1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olive (I omitted)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup red wine (I used more)

1 cinnamon stick, broken in two

Pasta

1 lb penne or 1 lb rigatoni pasta, or elbows

3 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups whole milk (I used less)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated kefalotiri or 1/2 cup Romano cheese or 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Bechamel Sauce

6 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used less)

3 eggs

1/2 lb grated kefalotiri or 1/2 lb Romano cheese or 1/2 lb Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:

1 For the meat sauce, put some olive oil in a large pot; saute onion until lightly browned; add garlic; add meat and cook until brown, crumbling with a fork; add remaining meat sauce ingredients to skillet; mix well; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until quite thick; let mixture cool; remove and discard cinnamon stick and bay leaf.

2 Prepare pasta by boiling until al dente in plenty of boiling, salted water; drain and place pasta in a large bowl; add butter, milk, eggs and 1/2 cup cheese; gently stir to coat; set aside.

3 To prepare bechamel sauce, melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan; stir in flour until smooth, cook, whisking for 2 minutes; gradually add milk, stirring, until thickened; lower heat; add salt, pepper and nutmeg; remove from heat.

4 In medium-sized bowl, beat 3 eggs; slowly add hot cream sauce to eggs; stir thoroughly so eggs don't curdle.

5 Preheat oven to 350°F and butter or oil (with olive oil) a large baking pan.

6 Empty 1/2 of the penne mixture over bottom of pan; cover evenly with all of meat sauce; sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over meat sauce; add remaining penne mixture, spreading evenly; sprinkle another 1/3 of the cheese over top; pour bechamel sauce evenly over entire casserole; top with remaining cheese.

7 Bake until bechamel sauce sets and has golden-brown patches across top, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour; cool at least 20 minutes before cutting into pieces for serving.

8 Freezer Notes: Once the baked pastitsio has completely cooked, cut serving-size pieces, double-wrap in foil and freeze. Defrost in the usual manner and reheat in microwave (or oven) for a delicious, quick meal, when there's little time to cook and dinner is ready and waiting in the freezer!

***I BELIEVE THIS WAS POSTED HERE ON RECIPE SWAP BY OUR OWN SABATINI2!

These are some of her comments posted:

Sabatini207/16/2014 at 1:04 PM2775 PostsRegistered 11/13/2010

In the above post I cited Evelyn/Athen's recipe for Yemista, which is stuffed peppers and/or tomatoes. I'll be eternally grateful to her for a simple step in that recipe where she said "Turn off oven and leave in for another hour to 'mellow' before serving."

I now do that when I make regular stuffed peppers. Yum! some recipes are a labor of love, and Pastitsio is one of them. You can always make the meat sauce & bechamel the day before, and reheat the following day & proceed w/ assembly.

The last time that I made Pastitsio, I used Evelyn/Athens recipe from food.com. (Her Yemista is delish!) Evelyn's Pastitsio is very good, but like most cooks, I tinker w/ it too, cutting down on the cinnamon & nutmeg, using a few Tblspns of tomato paste in the meat sauce, & upping the red wine, and use less milk when tossing the pasta layer together. This makes a large lasagna sized casserole, or 2 smaller ones.

Thanks kathoderay for answering. Thank you RespectLife for all the recipes.

I appreciate you both taking the time to answer me.

Jamma

It is a regular dish at some Midwest Greek restaurants. They might have it at diners in NJ.

There is also another Greek dish that I love making that is considered like a Greek lasagna and it's called moussaka....both are incredibly yummy!

Love both pastitsio and moussaka!

IMO, pastitsio is best with ground lamb rather than ground beef.