Greek Adventure #1: Pastitsio

Good Evening Everyone!!

After watching a few cooking shows on the Food Network, I've had a deep urge to research and make some Greek meals.  I don't know much about Greek fares, other than the little bit shown on My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  (I LOVE that movie!!)  To me, they like olives, yogurt and Feta cheese.... but that's the extent of my knowledge.  Until today.  I had (successfully) made Pastitsio for my family.  After looking through many, many recipes online that show many similarities, only a few differences, here is what my final product consists of.  

INGREDIENTS: 

(Meat Sauce):

1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef (many recipes suggested the use of lamb or combination of the two.  I had wanted to do that, but apparently my little grocery store is having problems getting ground lamb.  Ho hum.)

2 cloves finely diced garlic

1 lg yellow onion, chopped

1 C finely diced black olives

1 can of diced tomatoes (fresh tomatoes are always preferred, but I was too tired, today)

3 Tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

olive oil

S & P to taste

(Pasta):

1 lb Penne pasta

1/2 C milk

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 C grated Parmesan Cheese

olive oil

(Bechamel Sauce):

4 C milk

1 C butter

1/2 C flour

nutmeg

S & P, to taste

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Make the meat sauce first - brown your ground beef (or combination meats) in a sauce pan with a little olive oil, add S&P to taste. 

**Note: See my fish spoon-rest?  It's handmade by my oldest son,
when he was in the 4th grade.  I love it!! 

2) Ooops!  I was supposed to caramelize the onions in the pan with olive oil FIRST, THEN add the meats and brown.  I, however, was too eager with the beef.... so I added in the onions soon after.  My bad.  

3)  When the meat is almost browned to perfection, add in everything else... spices, olives and tomatoes.  Cook and let simmer until the juices are almost gone.  

4)  Bechamel Sauce - Start with warming up the milk on the stove.  Make sure you keep it on low until the milk is heated up.  I had it too high and got a sugary, brown film stuck to the bottom of my brand new pot.  Strange, I know... but learned something new today.  hm.  

5)  Melt the butter in the microwave (or on the stove, if you wish.... I was running out of stove-top space, so microwave it was!)  Once melted, whisk in the flour until fully incorporated.... ie: no clumps.  

6) Stir together with the milk and add in the eggs, cheese and spices.  Continue to stir until it's heated through and well mixed.  It was suggested that it be kept warm until you need it for the assembly, I did not do this.  It got very thick and hard to spread on later, so keeping it warm would have been wise.  =)

7) Pasta:  Boil your pasta in salty water until just before el-dente.  Drain and toss with a little olive oil.  (Hint: I tossed it with the oil while still in the strainer in the sink, that way it didn't accumulate puddles of oil in my pot and make my pasta greasy.)  Let cool.  

8)  Mix together the beaten eggs, pasta, milk, cheese. 

8) ASSEMBLY: Lightly 'grease' your dish.  I had planned on using my glass cake pan, but then decided to make cake so then used my casserole dish.  I put a thin layer of butter on the bottom & sides, you can use cooking spray if you wish, or melted butter, I suppose.  

      * Bottom layer: 1/3 - 1/2 of your pasta mixture

      * Next layer: All your meat mixture.  (If it's still juicy, try to spoon out the excess before layering)

      * Third layer: Rest of the pasta

      * Pour your Bechamel sauce over the top.  These measurements made quite a bit of sauce, I did not use it all.  About 1/3 of the sauce was unused.  (The final outcome had just the right amount of sauce for us, but everyone is different)

9) Bake at 350' for 30 - 40 min

10) Sprinkle more cheese on top, if desired.  We desired, so I sprinkled.  1/2 C Parmesan and 1/2 Mozerella (for the melting factor... yumm!!)  

11) Put back in oven and bake for another 15 min or so.  I left mine in a little too long, around 30 min and it came out a bit black.  However, it didn't taste burnt.... just looked kind of scary.   

12)  Once out of the oven... let sit for 20 - 30 minutes.  I've read in every recipe that Pastitsio is meant to be eaten at room temperature.  Plus, if you don't let it sit, then it'll end up as a soupy mess.  It needs to sit... so let it sit.  Then... slice, serve and enjoy.  

Strange enough - ALL my little boys ate this and husband really liked it, too.  They asked if I could make it again and were eager to see there were plenty of leftovers.  Hope it turns out well for you, too!!!