Pastitsio or the alter ego of Moussaka !
(for my son, that has football today and needs extra energy :)
In Greece, when you want to treat someone special you cook
moussaka or pastitsio! So, these 2 recipes HAVE to be in this blog. Not to say that are very similar recipes.
Moussaka has eggplants, pastitsio has pasta macaroni instead.
Moussaka is known all over the world and I consider better to cook it when it is the season for egg-plants for better results. So wait sometime to see in this blog my version. While pastitsio, is almost equivalent in taste, kids love it more (there is pasta inside :) but is not known so much outside Greece while inside is VERY popular. In contrast to moussaka, one can cook it all year long (I have some issues with good tomatoes but there is the canned tomatoes as alternative).
Today, thanks to my friend Carla that asked for the recipe (her husband tried it in one of my parties and became addicted :) I decided to go for it ! Actually, they liked "mini-pastitsios" which is the same recipe but in muffin-like individual portions. I will add in another post, details about this version soon.
Another friend, Magali, also asked for moussaka, so please my dear waiting for this recipe, try this one :)
I warn you though... it takes time to prepare pastitsio and you will have to clean several casseroles :) But, staying faithful to my moto (simple but delicious...) I will try to give this recipe as simple as possible but trust me, it's the original recipe and really DELICIOUS!!!
And the good news? If you are tired, just stop the recipe in the middle and just enjoy pasta with the meat sauce which is also a traditional greek dish. But I know that you are brave enough, so... Ready? Here it goes...
Ingredients
grated cheese (what ever you have available or like, here emmental and parmigiano )
Meat sauce
700gr sliced meat of veal (I use actually half-half with porc but I insist on veal and not beef, trust me...)
3 red tomatoes or 1 can of tomatoes (have to be of excellent quality to have a tasty sauce!)
olive oil
garlic, onion, salt, pepper, parsley
Pasta
500-700gr macaroni pasta or equivalent (depends how thick you want it)
water, salt, olive oil
White sauce (Bechamel)
1 lt of milk
6-7 spoons of flour
salt, white pepper
2 spoons of butter
2 eggs
Procedure
You need to cook 3 things:
a meat sauce, boil
pasta and
white sauce (bechamel).
First start with the meat sauce. Put in a casserole some olive oil,
the sliced meat and the sliced garlic and onion. Fry them in high
temperature and when done, add the sliced tomatoes, salt, pepper, sliced
parsley and 1 cup of water. Cover and let simmer for about 30-40min or
until you have a nice sauce.
Then, boil pasta following box instruction in a big volume of boiling salty water. Finish with a touch of olive oil, salt and white pepper.
Finally, for the white sauce, put the milk in a small casserole and add
the flour, salt, pepper, white pepper in low fire. Stir continuously
until it starts to thicken. Take it out of fire and add first the butter
and then the beaten eggs. Mix well.
Once you have all 3 parts, grease a deep baking dish and start assembling them.
You need 5 layers:
- pasta (1/2)
- tomato sauce with grated cheese (2/3)
- pasta (1/2)
- tomato sauce with grated cheese (1/3)
- white sauce with grated cheese
Put in the oven at 200 degrees (Celsius) with air, for about 20-30min or until it gets a nice crust on top. Admire! It worthed the effort, non? I wait your comments... especially from my dear friends Ria and Lina that are also experts on pasticcio and could add their own secrets here :)
