Pastitsio, Greek Lasagna

A favorite authentic Greek recipe is Pastitsio! Pastitsio is the Greek version to Lasagna, pasta, aromatic beef ragu, and béchamel sauce on top. Together with Moussaka are the ultimate traditional greek food for your next dinner party to impress your family and friends.

Ingredients

A package of bucatini pasta, penne or rigatoni

 For the beef ragu  

1kilo lean ground beef

1/4 of a cup olive oil

1 big red onions (finely chopped)

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 cinnamon stick

3-4 cloves

1 tsp sugar

2 cloves of garlic

A pinch of salt and ground black pepper

For the béchamel

1litter milk

1litter water

8 tablespoons of plain flour

50g butter

3 eggs (room temperature)

Cheese  Kefalotyri or Parmigiano-Reggiano for the top of the béchamel

Method

For this delicious recipe we start by boiling the bucatini pasta, if you can’t find any an alternative option is penne or rigatoni pasta and make sure you boil the pasta a few minutes less than the package instructions, as your pasta will be bake in the over as well. For the beef ragu, start by adding olive oil at a pan on medium-high heat and sauté the onions, add the minced meat, tomato paste diluted in a glass of water and stir. Then add all your spices cinnamon, clove, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Let it simmer until the liquid has been reduced.  

For the béchamel sauce instead of using another pan, reuse the pan you baked the pasta add a litter of water and a litter of milk, add the butter and slowly add the flour or you can mix the flour separately so it won’t get lumpy. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture starts to get thick. Then remove and let it cool for a few minutes so you can add the eggs and stir until combined into a smooth and creamy sauce. The on a pan you add the pasta, beef ragu and the béchamel and some cheese on the top. Place to the over for about 30 minutes or until the béchamel sauce starts to become golden brown. And voila kali oreksi enjoy!