My mother-in-law made the best pastitso – just ask her grandchildren.
When I cleaned out her kitchen after her passing, I came upon some of her recipes collected over her 91 years on this planet.
There were old Greek-American cookbooks, hand written recipes, and copied recipes given to her by family and friends.
She taught me how to make some of her really great dishes, like her oven-roasted potatoes; but I never thought to ask her how she made her delicious pastitso.
One of the recipes I found had editing in her handwriting so I thought, “Maybe this is it?”
I gave it a try, after deciphering a few cryptic instructions she wrote in the margins.
The result was a good recreation of one of her most coveted recipes. I’m not going to claim it is exactly a match for hers, but it’s really great and we had no trouble devouring the entire tray.
I have hopes that with practice and tweaking, my pastitso recipe will make her proud.
What is Pastitso?
Pastitso is a Greek layered casserole consisting of ground meat, macaroni, and cheese topped with béchamel sauce.
It really is like a Greek lasagna, though its spices make it distinctive. Cinnamon warms the tomato sauce, while nutmeg brings out the subtle flavor of the béchamel.
How Difficult Is it to Make?
Like lasagna, pastitso is assembled step by step and each part is homemade.
In other words, this isn’t a recipe you will whip up on a weeknight.
But with some planning you can make the parts separately and then assemble them for the final bake.
Also, nothing in this recipe is tricky if you follow the directions. Béchamel sauce is easy if you temper the eggs with a bit of sauce before whisking the eggs into the pot.
Tempering eggs means gradually introducing a hot liquid to whisked eggs to prevent them from curdling or scrambling. This is done by slowly adding a small amount of the hot liquid to the eggs, whisking vigorously, and then combining the tempered mixture back with the rest of the hot liquid.
Pastitso is traditionally made with the ziti noodles assembled in horizontal rows over the meat filling. It takes some time (and my rows weren’t perfect!), but it’s worth the trouble.
My photo may not impress you because I literally cut the casserole into two separate pans and froze half for another time. You are looking at half the height a full recipe would yield.
But this is a lot for the two of us to eat, so keep that in mind as you design your own pastitso.
Another change I made was to cut the béchamel sauce quantity in half. My son thought the full recipe was a little heavy on the “topping.” You may find that you like the thick topping. Just double the sauce ingredients.
Whether you split the casserole in half like I did, or chose not to “line up” the macaroni, it will still be delicious.
Pastitso
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Ground beef sirloin or lean
- 12 T. Butter 1 and ½ sticks
- ¼ c. chopped parsley
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crush then mince
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- ½ tsp. Nutmeg
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 can 8 oz. tomato sauce
- ½ c. white wine
- 1 lb. macaroni ziti
- 1 c. Grated romano cheese
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 c. béchamel sauce ingredients and directions below
Bechamel Sauce
- 2 c. hot milk
- ¼ c. butter 1/2 stick
- 3 T. flour
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- In 4 T. butter, sauté the ground beef with onion, garlic, and parsley, crumbling beef with a fork until golden brown.
- Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, wine, and tomato sauce. Simmer 30 minutes and then turn off burner.
- While sauce simmers, cook macaroni according to package directions, then drain. Place macaroni in a large mixing bowl.
- Add to the macaroni 8 T. (a stick) of melted butter and mix. Then, add in beaten eggs and ½ c. or so of grated Romano. Mix well.
- Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 baking pan and cover the bottom with ½ of the macaroni and then ½ of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with ¼ c. Romano cheese.
- Note: The traditional way is to line up the macaroni in parallel rows in the baking pan rather than helter-skelter in the pan. It doesn’t taste different either way, but the presentation is neater.
- Spread remaining macaroni over the meat sauce layer. Then, top the macaroni with the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with the final ¼ c. Romano cheese.
- Top with the Bechamel sauce, below.
- Place the baking pan in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
- Then, lower oven to 325 degrees.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 30 more minutes or until heated through.
- Note: If you wish to prepare in advance, omit the béchamel and do not bake the assembled pastitso. Just cover it and refrigerate until you are ready to make the Béchamel sauce, bake, and serve.
Make the Béchamel Sauce
- Heat milk in microwave but do not boil. Have the hot milk nearby as you begin melting the butter, and then proceed as follows:
- Melt butter in pan on medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Lower the heat and gradually whisk in milk, cooking until it thickens.
- Beat 2 eggs, temper with a scant ¼ c. of the roux, then whisk into the béchamel sauce in the pan. Cook over very low heat until it thickens, whisking continuously.
- Pour sauce on the layered pastitso and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon before baking.
