Pastitsio

By bakeaholic

This is my mom's recipe for Pastitsio and it's awesome! The Bechamel sauce crowning the meat and pasta is mouth-watering. This is a great meal for a crowd.
To make Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole), simply substitute the pasta for fried zucchini, eggplant and potatoes. See recipe for details.

Ingredients

• Bechamel:
• Double batch of meat sauce from the recipe "Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (Makaronada)"
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 lb. thick pasta (such as bucatini or Greek "pastitsio" pasta)
• 2 eggs
• 12 cups homo/whole milk
• 10 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 20 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste
• For Moussaka substitute pasta with:
• 2 large green zucchini sliced lengthwise
• 4 medium eggplant sliced horizontally
• 4 baking potatoes sliced horizontally
• Canola oil for frying

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the meat sauce as instructed in the listed recipe. Let sauce simmer a little longer so that that it thickens quite a bit. Remove from heat and add 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. Set aside to cool.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Place in greased 10.5"x15" deep baking dish. Beat one egg and pour into the dish as well. Stir the pasta so that it is covered with the egg.
If you are making Moussaka, you omit the pasta altogether. Instead you fry the eggplant, zucchini and potatoes in the oil and drain on paper towel. Using a larger greased baking pan, arrange the potatoes in a layer on the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of zucchini and then eggplant. Set aside.
4. To make the Bechamel, melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk for a minute or two to cook the flour and make a roux.
5. Slowly whisk in the milk and continue whisking until the sauce has thickened. You know it is done when it thickly coats the back of a spoon.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, eggs, nutmeg and parmesan.
7. Return to the meat sauce and add one whisked egg to the pot. Stir to combine and pour the meat sauce over the pasta or vegetables, depending on which dish you are making.
8. Ladel the Bechamel sauce over the meat sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
9. Bake in oven until top is golden brown and bubbling. Let it cool significantly before serving. It needs this time to firm up so that it can be cut into pieces without falling apart.