Kali Orexi’s Pastitsio – Greek Layered Pasta Bake with Beef and Béchamel Recipe

Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Greek
Kali Orexi’s Pastitsio – Greek Layered Pasta Bake with Beef and Béchamel Recipe

Pastitsio is a classic Greek dish, loved by most everyone. Layered pasta, spiced meat sauce and creamy béchamel come together to satisfy the eye, the palate and the biggest appetite! Make it now and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • For the meat sauce
  • 1 cup olive oil extra virgin (EVOO)
  • 4 medium onions finely chopped (See ‘Key Points’ below)
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1.2 kg beef mince full fat
  • 1.2 kg canned diced tomato puréed
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 bunch parsley finely chopped
  • 2 large sticks cinnamon
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 nutmegs whole
  • 8 cloves whole
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • For the pasta
  • 1-1.2 kg casarecce pasta – boiled to just before ‘al dente’ and cooled
  • ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin (EVOO)
  • 2 egg whites beaten till frothy
  • 200 g grated kefalotyri
  • For the béchamel sauce
  • 2 litres milk full-cream
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks (left over from the pasta preparation)
  • 225 g plain flour sifted
  • 100 g salted butter
  • 300 g kefalotyri finely grated
  • For the pastitsio topping
  • 100 g kefalotyri grated
  • olive oil extra virgin (EVOO)

Method

  1. Preparing the meat sauce
  2. Sautée and lightly brown the onions and the garlic
  3. Add the beef mince and push down on it with a wooden spoon to help break it down into little pieces
  4. Continue mixing and pushing down on the mince meat, until it has all cooked through and all of it has broken down into small fragments
  5. Add the puréed tomatoes and mix through
  6. Add the water to the empty tomato cans and/or food processor (if either used), swirl to release any remaining tomato residue and add the ‘tomatoey’ water to the pot
  7. Add the parsley, salt and pepper and mix in well
  8. Place the cloves and nutmeg in a closed tea strainer or bouquet-garni container. Place it in the pot and add the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves
  9. Simmer until all the water has reduced, leaving a layer of orange-hued oil on top - about an hour or so
  10. Remove the cinnamon, bay leaves and tea strainer from the pot just before using the meat sauce in the pastitsio
  11. Preparing the pasta
  12. Combine the cooked casarecce with the EVOO and set aside to cool
  13. Once the pasta has cooled, add the beaten egg whites and the kefalotyri in turn and mix well with each addition
  14. Set aside
  15. Preparing the béchamel sauce
  16. Place all ingredients in a pot on medium heat and stir continuously with a whisk, until all the flour is combined and the butter has melted
  17. Continue to heat and stir the sauce with a whisk until it thickens and shows the first signs of bubbling
  18. Remove from the heat and mix in the grated kefalotyri until it completely melts through
  19. Assembling the pastitsio
  20. Place half of the pasta mixture evenly across the base of a large baking dish (my baking dish is 34cmL x 38cmW x 8cmD)
  21. Spoon approximately one third of the béchamel sauce evenly on top
  22. Depending on your preference, add all or almost all of the meat sauce and spread it evenly across the pan
  23. Add the remaining pasta evenly across the baking dish
  24. Pour the remaining béchamel sauce across the top of the baking dish
  25. Using the back of a spoon, spread the béchamel evenly across the top of the pastitsio
  26. Drizzle the top of the pastitsio sparingly with EVOO and generously top with finely grated kefalotyri
  27. Baking the pastitsio
  28. Bake the pastitsio at 200°C for approximately 30-40 minutes
  29. Keep an eye on the pastitsio as it bakes and place pieces of either baking paper or aluminium foil over the areas that brown
  30. Continue to do this until the entire pastitsio has browned on top
  31. Serving the pastitsio
  32. Allow the pastitsio to cool and set for 1-2 hours before serving
  33. If the pastitsio cools for longer, then reheat it covered at 180°C for approximately 30 minutes before serving
  34. Recipe makes 16-20 serves

Watch the video

Key Points

"> Key Points If you use a food processor to chop the onions, do not over-process them, as they will release their water, turn to mush and change the texture of the meat sauce You can use puréed, fresh, ripe tomatoes or canned tomatoes. This will make the sauce less or more ‘tomatoey’ When browning the onions, keep a close eye on them, as you do not want them to burn! A little browning will add sweetness to the sauce; however, burnt onions will impart a bitter flavour As the water content in the meat sauce reduces during the simmering process, the heat setting on your cooktop also needs to be lowered; otherwise you run the risk of burning the sauce. Keep an eye on your sauce and your cook-top heat setting! Do not overcook the sauce or the beautiful infusion of spices will be overwhelmed by the overcooked flavour of the oil, tomato and meat. About an hour should do it If there is a small amount of residual water in the meat sauce, it will be absorbed by the pasta during the baking phase of the pastitsio To make pastitsio preparation a little less onerous, make the meat sauce the night before. It saves you about 1 1/2 hours of preparation time on the day you make the pastitsio and it allows the aromas of the spices to infuse further in the sauce Remove the spices, just before you use the sauce When making the béchamel sauce, continuous stirring and patience is essential! If you do not stir the sauce it may ‘catch’ or burn at the bottom and then when you do stir it, small brown fragments will appear throughout your sauce – not a good look! Depending on how cheesy and/or salty you like your pastitsio you can substitute the kefalotyri with kasseri for a milder cheese flavour Yum