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Pastitsio

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Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
Thin Cream Sauce
4 tbls unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups hot milk We heated it in the microwave
2 egg yolks
Thick Cream Sauce (Béchamel)
4 cups cold milk
4 whole eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Filling
2 tbls butter
2 lbs ground beef Don't use anything leaner than 85%
24 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp low sodium Better than Bouillon If you can't find this, you can use 1 chicken flavored bullion cube
dash ground pepper
dash cinnamon
1 box tubular pasta You can use penne, ziti, or rigatoni (we used rigatoni)
2 cups grated cheese You can use Kefalotiri or Parmesan

Pastitsio

The classic Greek dish

Cuisine:

Pastitsio may be a lot of work but boy is it worth it. You'll be glad that you made it and pretty proud of yourself!

  • 40 min
  • Serves 6
  • Hard

Ingredients

  • Thin Cream Sauce

  • Thick Cream Sauce (Béchamel)

  • Filling

Summary

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Pastitsio is a lot of work, we all know it. So when my sisters make it, it’s definitely a treat, and there’s nothing like homemade pastitsio! You don’t really need to make anything with it, besides maybe a salad. And it is so good as a leftover. Go ahead, give it a try. It may be a lot of steps but boy is it worth it. You’ll be glad that you did and pretty proud of yourself, I’m sure. You can brag about it to your friends… but you’ll probably have to share!

Steps

1
Done

Thin Sauce

Prepare the thin sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook until mixture is gold in color. Slowly stir in hot milk and cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth. Lower heat to medium low. In a bowl, beat egg yolks, then gradually stir in about 1/2 cup of hot milk, stirring constantly. Then pour egg/ milk mixture into saucepan. Stir and cook for a minute or two without cooking the eggs. Remove from heat and set aside.

2
Done

Béchamel

To prepare the Béchamel, heat milk in a medium saucepan, until hot and you see small bubbles (do not boil). Make sure to stir constantly so bottom does not burn. While milk is heating, in a good size bowl, beat eggs and add the flour. Beat again until well mixed. Gradually stir about a cup of hot milk to flour mixture. Pour mixture into saucepan, and cook until sauce is nice and thick, stirring frequently. Make sure not to boil or let bottom burn. Remove from heat and set aside.

3
Done

Meat Sauce

To prepare meat sauce, melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add tomato sauce and spices and cook let for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4
Done

While meat sauce is cooking, preheat oven to 350* and cook pasta according to instructions on package. Drain and set aside.

5
Done

Assemble

To assemble, butter the bottom and sides of large baking dish (I used 13 x 9 x 2). Spread breadcrumbs to cover bottom. Spreading every layer, start with adding a layer of pasta, then pour half the thin cream sauce on top. Add all the meat sauce. Then add a layer of grated cheese. Add the remaining pasta, then another layer of cheese, then the remaining thin cream sauce. Finally, add the Béchamel. Spread in a nice, even layer. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Bake until golden brown, about an hour. Let cool a bit before cutting, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve. You can refeat after cutting if you want it hot.

Greek Sisters

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Araka (Pea Stew)
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