Pastitsio : The Authentic Greek Baked Pasta
Pastitsio is undoubtedly one of the most famous and traditional Greek recipes. It is maybe the Greek answer to italian lasagne, with influences from all the Mediterranean. The most recent and most popular contemporary variant of pastitsio was invented by Tselementes, a French-trained Greek chef of the early 20th century. Before him, pastitsio had a filling of pasta, liver, meat, eggs, and cheese wrapped in pastry, similar to the most Italian "pasticcio" recipes. He completely changed the dish and made it a kind of au gratin. This recipe is absolutely sinful but irresistible. Enjoy it at least once a year?!
- 125 g pasta (thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center e.g. Bucatini No.9 or ideally Pastitsio Spaghetti No.10)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 50 g parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 serv Bolognese Sauce (see my recipe “The secrets of the famous Bolognese Sauce revealed!”)
- 50 g butter
- 25 g flour (all purpose)
- 250 ml milk (whole fat)
- 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 50 g Gruyère cheese (grated)
- nutmeg (ground)
Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than that indicated in the packet. Drain the pasta and transfer it back to the saucepan. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and toss the pasta. Set aside covered, until needed.
Warm the milk. Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add flour whilst continuously stirring. Stir for 2-3 minutes to avoid burning the flour.
Reduce heat to low. Add the milk, in small batches, whisking continuously so that no lumps form in the mixture. Cook and whisk until the sauce starts to thicken . Be careful not to let it boil or burn on the bottom.
The mixture will be quite thick at first. Be patient. As you add more and more of the milk, you will see how the béchamel sauce will start to become nice and creamy.When thickened, remove from heat and let the béchamel sit for a few minutes. Add the grated gruyere and whisk to incorporate. Add then the egg yolk whisking all the time. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside.
Put half of the pasta in the bottom of a deep rectangular or round baking pan and arrange evenly. Sprinkle with half of the parmesan . Spread 1 Tbsp of béchamel sauce evenly to the pasta. Add the remaining pasta and sprinkle with the rest of parmesan cheese.
Using a spoon, cover pasta layer with all or most of the bolognese sauce, leaving room for the béchamel layer on top. Cover evenly with the béchamel sauce.
Preheat oven to 180oC (Fan). Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside for 10 minutes and serve hot.
- For best results use Gruyere Cheese P.D.O. from Naxos, Greece.
- To save time, prepare the minced meat sauce one day ahead.
Kallisti wants to thank you for visiting "A cat in my kitchen!" blog.