Pastitsio

Pastitsio: Step by Step

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1. Fry the onions in the olive oil for 10 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute.

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2. Raise the heat and brown the mince hard for 10 minutes, breaking it up.

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3. Add the wine and let it bubble away, then the tomatoes, purée, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, bay and salt.

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4. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes until thick and nearly dry. Fish out the whole spices and bay.

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5. Cook the pasta 2 minutes short of al dente, drain, and toss with the egg whites and half the cheese while hot.

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6. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Spread half the pasta in a deep 30 x 22 cm dish, arranging the tubes in one direction. Scatter with the remaining cheese, then the meat sauce, then the rest of the pasta.

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7. For the béchamel, melt the butter, whisk in the flour, cook 2 minutes, then add the warm milk gradually. Simmer 8 minutes until very thick.

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8. Off the heat, beat in the nutmeg, salt, cheese and finally the yolks one at a time.

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9. Pour over the pasta, level the surface, and bake 50 to 55 minutes until deep golden and set. Rest 30 minutes before cutting — this is essential for clean squares.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.

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What Can Go Wrong

1. Rest it for a full 30 minutes. Cutting hot pastitsio gives you a plate of collapse.
2. The béchamel should be thick enough to hold a trail from the whisk. Thin béchamel will not set.
3. Kefalotyri is sharp and salty; Parmesan or pecorino are the closest substitutes.

Changing the Recipe

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

About This Recipe

The béchamel is enriched with egg yolks and kefalotyri, which makes it set firm enough to cut into clean squares rather than slumping across the plate. Standing the pasta tubes in the same direction lets the meat sauce work into them and gives the finished slice its distinctive striped cross-section.

To Go With It

A Greek salad with plenty of oregano · A red Agiorgitiko or Xinomavro · Crusty bread

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Greek Lemon Potatoes, Greek Fried Potatoes.

Keeping Pastitsio

Refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze 3 months. Reheat covered at 170°C / 340°F for 30 minutes.

Quick Answers

The Numbers per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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