Pastitsio
Pastitsio is a greek lasagna. The flavors are incredible! Seasonal flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. A hearty meat sauce and white cream sauce mixed and baked with pasta!
Ingredients
For The Meat Sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1½ lbs. ground beef, lean
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 28 oz. can of san marzano tomatoes
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For The Béchamel (cream sauce)
- 2½ cups cream or milk I used hald and half
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1½ cups grated parmesan, divided
- 2/3 cups plain greek yogurt
- 4 cups ziti noodles
Instructions
For The Meat Sauce
- In a large pot, add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft. Add ground beef and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Until no longer pink.
- Drain any fat/liquid from pan and add wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until almost all wine has absorbed.
- Add garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme and cayenne. Allow to cook for 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Crush tomatoes with spoon if needed. Simmer for 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
For The Béchamel (cream sauce)
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour using a wooden spoon until smooth and allow to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add milk and whisk to mix. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly until sauce thickens. Turn heat down to a simmer and whisk until the sauce thickens more, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir in greek yogurt and set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package direction, until al dente. Drain and dump pasta in meat sauce. Mix together.
- Pour pasta in a 9x13 baking dish. Spread cream sauce evenly on top of pasta, followed by remaining parmesan cheese.
- Bake in oven for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe inspiration from Ina Garten https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pastitsio-recipe-1949975