Pastichio (AKA Greek “Lasagna”)

I have been wanting to post this dish on my blog for a long time, it should have been one of the firsts since it is a popular Greek dish in America and available at almost every restaurant in Greece. Pastichio is the ultimate Greek comfort food, along with one of my favorites-Mousaka! It has noodles, ground meat and an oh so yummy bechamel sauce on top. The noodle of choice is a long large tubular pastichio noodle that you can find at specialty stores in the States, but in every grocery store in Greece 🙂 . I find that ziti or elbow pasta is a great substitute and actually makes the dish easier to eat.

Some call pastichio the Greek version of lasagna. Some of the key ingredients include: cheese, usually mizithra, a Greek cheese made with goat’s milk and whey and not as readily available (unless you are in Greece 🙂 ) so a good substitution is asiago, romano or parmesean cheese; a meat sauce tinted with tomato paste and notes of cinnamon; the noodles, and; the lovely bechamel sauce that goes on top. It’s a beautiful bite in your mouth.

This dish is my husbands FAVORITE Greek dish (and one of my good friends-Matt, now you can make it 🙂 ). Serve it with a nice Greek lettuce salad and you have yourself a wonderful and comforting meal. Although, be prepared to wash some pots and pans. It’s not a hard dish to make (other than possibly the bechamel sauce) but lot’s of steps and dishes. It definitely is a labor of LOVE!

If you want to make it easier on yourself you can make the meat sauce the night before and stick it in the frig. For that matter, you can make the noodles the day before too and just assemble and pour on the béchamel the day of. It’s also not a low fat dish 🙂 but it is worth it! It also freezes well if you have any left, just take it out of the freezer and put in the frig the day before you want to eat it and cut you a piece and heat it in the microwave or in the oven.

You will need:

Step 1-meat sauce:

• 2 lbs ground beef (I use 93/7 lean/fat ratio)
• 1 medium-large onion, finely chopped or grated on large grate
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2″ piece cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 3 large egg whites, beaten (yolks reserved for white sauce)
• 1/4 cup grated mizithra, asiago, romano or parmesean cheese

Step 2-pasta:

• 16 oz of pastichio, ziti, or elbow noodles, cooked to package directions to firm (which is between al dente and tender)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup grated mizithra, asiago, romano or parmesean cheese

Step 3-white sauce:

• 8 tablespoons butter (yeah, I know, but its a lot of servings 🙂 )
• 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 6 cups warm milk
• 1/4 cup grated mizithra, asiago, romano or parmesean cheese
• 3 egg yolks, beaten (reserved from above)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg (for top once assembled)

Steps:

1. Step 1: To make meat sauce (you can do the day before if you prefer): Sauté beef and onions in butter until browned (10-15 minutes), making sure you break down the meat well.
2. Add cinnamon, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper.
3. Stir in tomato paste, chicken stock/water, and wine (if using).
4. Simmer until moisture is absorbed, about 30 minutes then turn off and allow to cool.
5. Once cooled, add in the beaten egg whites and the grated cheese and combine well.
6. Step 2: While your meat sauce is cooling start cooking the pasta to package directions.
7. Once pasta is done, drain well and add in butter and grated cheese and combine well, set aside.
8. Step 3: For the white sauce, melt butter in a 2-3 quart sauce pan, add flour and whisk until well combined, it will be a thick and crumbly looking roux. Cook and stir roux for a minute before adding the milk.
9. Slowly add warm milk, stirring constantly so your sauce won’t lump up until smooth. Your whisking arm will get a workout.
10. Once all milk is added and well incorporated with the roux simmer on medium heat until you see small bubbles popping and it thickens, whisking regularly so the sauce doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.
11. Turn off heat and allow to cool for about 15 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the top doesn’t form a skin.
12. Once cooled enough to touch, add grated cheese, beaten whole eggs and egg yolks, salt and pepper.
13. Time to assemble. Take half of the prepared pasta and add 2 cups of the white sauce into it and combine.
14. Evenly spread pasta with white sauce on the bottom of a greased 11 by 15″ (or similar) pan, that is about 3″ high, or more, so your last layer, the white sauce, fits.
15. Then, evenly spread all the meat sauce mixture on top of your first pasta layer.
16. Lastly, evenly spread the remaining pasta over the meat sauce and spread well where all nooks and crannies are covered.
17. Now top it off with the rest of your white sauce, making sure to get even coverage.
18. Sprinkle top of white sauce with grated (or ground) nutmeg. If you don’t like nutmeg then you can leave it off or sprinkle a little cinnamon on it instead. You can also sprinkle some rusk crumbs on top, if you like.
19. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until lightly browned on top. If it hasn’t lightly browned on top after an hour, then turn on your broiler and broil the top for 3-5 minutes…checking on it every minute to make sure it doesn’t burn the top.
20. Take out of the oven, when ready, and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour before cutting if you want to have a nice cut piece, otherwise the pieces you cut may fall apart if it’s still real hot…either way, it’s still delicious!

Kali Orexi!