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pastitsio

A classic Greek baked pasta dish with hearty meat sauce and creamy béchamel.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 9
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 120

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients
  • 1 lb pastitsio pasta (or bucatini)
  • 0.33 cup parmesan cheese (or kefalotyri) grated
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • 0.25 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion (diced)
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 15 oz diced tomatoes (canned)
  • 1 cinnamon stick cinnamon stick
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 6 pieces all spice
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • to taste salt and pepper
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 0.5 cup all purpose flour
  • 0.75 tsp salt
  • 6 cups whole milk (warmed)
  • 2 eggs additional beaten eggs
  • 0.33 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

Method
 

Preparation Steps
  1. Cook the pasta in salted water until just almost al dente. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water. Toss the pasta with parmesan, nutmeg, and beaten eggs; set aside.
  2. In a large skillet, sauté diced onion in olive oil until translucent. Add ground beef; cook until no longer pink. Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add reserved pasta water and simmer for 30 minutes.
  3. Prepare béchamel: Melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until combined. Gradually add warm milk, whisking constantly, and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in beaten eggs and parmesan.
  4. Preheat oven to 420°F. Layer half of the pasta in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread all meat sauce over pasta. Add remaining pasta on top. Pour béchamel over the assembled dish and sprinkle with grated parmesan.
  5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

This recipe is a traditional Greek comfort food, perfect for family dinners.