Easy Greek Pastitsio

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Greek pasta bake. Layers of pasta, meat sauce & béchamel sauce.

Ingredients

• Bechamel Sauce
• 1/2 stick butter cut into pieces
• 5 tbsp all purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• Meat sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can diced tomatoes 15 oz.
• 2 bay leaves
• Pasta
• 1 lb penne pasta or pastitsio pasta No.2
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup parsley

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Bechamel sauce
1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add in the flour and whisk well. Cook until it doesn't smell raw.
3. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly to make sure no lumps form.
4. Lower the heat and add the salt and pepper.
5. Keep stirring and cooking until the sauce thickens.
6. Turn the heat off, stir the parmesan into the sauce.
7. Add in the eggs one by one and stir very well after each addition. Set the bechamel sauce aside.

Meat sauce
1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
3. Add in the tomato sauce and mix it with the onion and garlic.
4. Add in the ground beef and ground lamb. Brown them in the pan and break them as you cook them.
5. Add in oregano, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for a minute.
6. Add in the water, canned tomatoes and add the bay leaves. Keep the heat on medium and cook the meat sauce for about 30 minutes or until the water is almost evaporated.
7. Taste the sauce to make sure it has enough salt, add more if needed.
8. Remove the bay leaves and set the sauce aside.

Pasta
1. Cook the penne according to the packaging and drain.
2. Once the pasta is cool enough to handle, place it in a bowl and mix it with olive oil, eggs, parmesan and parsley to it.

Step 2

Assemble:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and coat a 9X13 baking pan with non stick spray.
2. Transfer the pasta to the baking pan. Top it with all the meat sauce and make sure to spread evenly.
3. Top the meat sauce with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese if desired.
4. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until it's all set and the top is golden brown.
5. To cut, let the pastitsio cool for 10 minutes, then using a large, sharp knife, slice the baked pasta into squares.

Step 3

Notes

For vegetarian pastitsio use cooked lentils or fried eggplant instead of meat.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat using a microwave or the oven.
This Greek pasta bake recipe is made with a combination of ground lamb and ground beef. However, you can use all lamb or all beef.
You can make the meat sauce and the bechamel ahead of time and store them in separate containers. When ready to bake, prepare the pasta following the instructions and assemble the dish.
It's best to use lean meat when making the meat sauce for this Greek baked pasta recipe. If using meat that has fat content higher than 7%, please discard the excess fat so the final dish is not too greasy.
If you're not a fan of penne and pastitsio pasta is not available, try using bucatini pasta for this recipe.
Instead of cinnamon, you can use a 2 inch cinnamon stick in the sauce but make sure you remove it before adding the meat sauce to the dish.

Nutrition
Calories: 768kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 181mg | Sodium: 1187mg | Potassium: 744mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1016IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 357mg | Iron: 4mg