PASTITSIO
Serves 8, Ready in 1 hour 15 minutes
Pastitsio
A Greek Classic! Pastitsio is Mediterranean comfort food at it’s finest.
I’ve used a thick greek spaghetti for this but if you can’t get a hold of this, straight macaroni pasta will do too.
INGREDIENTS
500g thick Greek spaghetti
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1x Onions, finely chopped
3x Garlic cloves, finely chopped
500g Beef Mince
1x Tinned chopped tomatoes
(Optional) Splash of red wine
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3 Bay leaves
1 teaspoon Oregano
Small handful of parsley, chopped
200g Feta, crumbled
100g cheddar cheese (or other similar white cheese)
3x Eggs; 1 beaten and set aside, the other two separated to use the yolks in step 10
150g Butter
150g plain flour
1 litre Milk
Greek macaroni for pastitsio
Pastitsio
METHOD
Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cook pasta according to cooking instructions and set aside.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the onions and garlic.
Then add the mince meat, season well and once it has browned, add the cinnamon, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and parsley.
Add in the tinned tomatoes and the wine if you’re using it (top it up with a little water if you need).
Leave the mince to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside once ready.
Lastly, prepare your white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add in your flour to form a roux.
Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously to bring it together with the roux to form a smooth mixture.
Cook it on the heat, whisking frequently until it thickens.
Once thickened, remove from the heat, stir in the eggs yolks, then add in the cheddar until it melts.
Now to assemble- First add the pasta into a large oven dish and top with the beaten egg and feta, then mix them together to combine.
Top the pasta with the mince.
Finally top with the white sauce.
Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes until golden brown on top.
Leave to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
Pastitsio is served