I was introduced to Pastitsio after hearing about the decadent Greek pasta dish from my business partner, whose in-laws married into a Greek family. It’s hard not to be captivated by one’s description of the dish: thick pasta noodles layered with a decadent meat and tomato sauce, creamy bechamel, handfuls of grated cheese, with a surprising yet intriguing hint of cinnamon. I stumbled upon a recipe in Ina Garten’s Make it Ahead cookbook, and with nothing but a quiet winter’s weekend ahead of me, I decided to give it a try. Though time-consuming and destined for a dedicated clean up time, gathering around the table with a glass of red wine and a plate of this delicacy will make it worthwhile.
Ina Garten’s Pastitsio
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6
servingsIngredients
- For the Meat Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground lamb (can substitute for pork)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 large cloves)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 can (28 ounces) San Marzano tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Bechmael
2 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan, divided
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 pound tubular pasta, preferably ziti
Directions
In a large pot, preferably a Dutch Oven, add the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the ground beef and lamb and continue to cook for 10 minutes, crumbling with a spoon, until no longer pink.
Drain any excess liquid and add the wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until almost all of the wine has absorbed. Add the garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and cayenne, and allow to cook 5 minutes to incorporate the flavors.
Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Crush the tomatoes with a spoon if needed. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40-45 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the béchamel and preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F.
Melt the butter over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Stir in the flour using a wooden spoon and allow to cook for 2 minutes until you no longer smell raw flour (or until you only smell butter).
Add the milk while whisking constantly. Increase the heat to a simmer, and continue to stir frequently until the milk has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7-8 minutes. Once smooth and thick, add the nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Season to taste and adjust if needed. Stir in 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for ten minutes. Stir in the Greek yogurt and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water just until al dente. It is okay if it is still hard, as it still has to bake in the oven. Drain and stir into the tomato-meat sauce. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 lasagna baking dish. Evenly spread over the bechamel, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Optional: add shredded mozzarella in addition to the Parmesan on the final layer before baking.
Bake for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. If any ingredients are made ahead of time, this may need a full hour to completely heat through.
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I’d never heard of pastitsio but I am now obsessed. It seems like comfort food at its finest. Beautiful and appetite-inducing pics, as usual!
Ah, you have to try it out! Thank you 🙂
I grew up eating this dish and can’t wait to try this out. The traditional pastitsio noodles are hard to come by. What type of pasta did you use?
This dish is so nostalgic, I hope you give it a try! I use Ziti or Penne noodles.
I would like to make the bechamel dairy free except for the parm. (Doesn’t seem to bother allergies) Any sugggestions other than soy? A good substitute for the yogurt?
I would try with non-flavored almond milk for the bechamel. The only dairy-free yogurt I’ve worked with is soy based and it’s way too runny for this recipe. Do they have a nut based Greek yogurt? If so, I would use that!
The flavor of this was outstanding. Though I’m not sure why it has to bake an entire hour. My noodles were al dente but after being in the oven an hour they were an over cooked mushy mess. I was so embarrassed to serve this to my company. I would make it again but only put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes to melt the cheese, since all the other ingredients are already cooked.
Sorry the noodles were a mush, but glad the flavors were there. Always use your best judgement on when to pull this out of the oven as every oven cooks differently!
What can be substituted for tomatoes or tomato sauce, family member has an allergy?
Hi Gigi – tomato sauce is what is used for Pastitsio, so I don’t think there’s a good substitution without switching up the whole dish. My recommendation would be to double the bechamel and add more flavors like Parmesan and garlic, which will turn this into more of an alfredo.