Pastitsio

September 2, 2023

Pastitsio is in most Greek households’ every day meal rotation, but I find it can be a bit of a ‘chore’ to eat (and make!) Not this easy peasy version with a simple yoghurt-y topping, though!

Summary

  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hr 5 min
  • Other:
  • Total Time: 1 hr 20 min
  • Servings: 6
  • Yield:

Ingredients

Bolognese Sauce
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 16 oz minced (ground) beef or lamb
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 teaspoon allspice
  • 255 g mushrooms chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree mixed with 150ml water and a beef stock cube
  • 2/3 cup red wine
  • 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons dried herbs I used oregano & thyme, but mixed herbs are great, too
  • a handful of fresh chopped parsley
  • salt & pepper
Other
  • 9 ounces penne ziti or macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon scant corn starch
  • 1 1/3 cup Greek yoghurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Fry the onion in a large saucepan with a drizzle of oil until translucent. Add the mince and brown for a few minutes.
  2. Add the garlic, cinnamon and allspice and stir and cook for a minute. Then add the mushrooms, tomato puree/water/stock, wine, chopped tomatoes and dried herbs.
  3. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 30 to 35 minutes until you have a rich sauce.
  4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet and drain. Also prepare the topping by whisking the eggs and about half the parmesan into the yoghurt and corn flour in a medium bowl.
  5. When the sauce is done, tip the pasta into it and mix well. Stir through the parsley and season well. Tip the pasta and sauce into a medium baking dish.
  6. Pour the yoghurt topping evenly over the top of the meat and pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden on the top.

Adjustments

  • I moved to broiler mode (500F) for a few minutes to brown up the topping. Worked great but be sure to watch it!

History

  • 2023-09-02 – Added this to the Labor Day Greek Fest this year. Pretty much made to recipe and almost the entire casserole dish vanished.

References