Greek Pastitsio

This is such a delicious dish. I grew up in a 2-flat owned by the Greek family who lived upstairs. The Yaya was such a wonderful cook, and so patient with all of us kids in her kitchen. She made pastitsio for us, and shared the recipe with our mom, as well as several other of her specialty dishes. This recipe is really excellent, and tastes just like Yaya's, and Mom's pastitsio. I wouldn't change a thing! Thank you truebrit, and thanks for making this with real-food ingredients. :)

People! Please do some google searches on fat. It's not the demon it had been made out to be in the past. Fat does not cause heart disease, nor does it make you fat. Read the labels on butter substitutes including margarine and low-fat, fat-free alternatives. The labels should make you cringe. Do you really think all those chemicals are better for you than good, healthy, natural butter?

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Very delicious! The only change I made was to make 1.5x the Bechamel, Personal preference. It was just wonderful, and my guests loved it. Also, the mint is listed as optional, but I think it's very important to the overall taste.

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This was excellent. It tasted exactly like my Greek girlfriends pastitsio. The only thing was there wasn't enough sauce. Maybe I made too much pasta...I don't know but I will definitely make it again.

UPDATE: I continue to make this recipe, I double the amount of tomato sauce and double the Bechemel. I also mix the pasta with the meat mixture to give an even consistency. I thicken the Bechemel till it is almost "stiff", I also leave it under the broiler @ the end to give some brown marks. My friends Pastitsio has a real thick and fluffy Bechemel. I am just trying to make it more like the version my Greek friend makes. The recipe does use a lot of pots and pans but is worth it.

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Absolutely excellent dish! I omitted almost all of the butter (used a little with the flour) to cut down on the fat and calories, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The mint, cinnamon and nutmeg really made the meat tasty. I served this with 'Cucumber With Feta Cheese and Mint' (Cucumber With Feta Cheese and Mint) and 'Greek-Style Corn on the Cob a La Evelyn' (Greek-Style Corn on the Cob a La Evelyn) as well as steamed broccoli and the meal was a great success. I will be making this dish again. Thank you Truebrit!

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I absolutely delicous. I have made this several times.I use skim milk and eggbeaters to make it a bit healthier.Also whole grain pasta and oregano instead of the mint. It's a definate keeper. I get to craving it. Something different.

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To make this dish more healthful, I substituted Fat Free "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" to retain the buttery taste but omit the fat. Also, I used Fat Free Half'nHalf instead of milk to increase richness and decrease fat as well. Finally, I used fiber-enriched pasta elbows to improve nutrition. Sometimes I substitute chopped canned tomatoes for a third of the tomato sauce. Overall, I prefer more cinnamon and nutmeg than this recipe lists, but this dish is always a hit.

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I was hesitant at first because my husband doesn't like the idea of nutmeg and cinnamon in anything but eggnog or pie. However, the flavors bake into this really well and he went back for seconds and thirds! I love greek food so of course I loved this. I couldn't find 'ziti' or 'bucatini', so I used penne rigatoni instead. Like Linda, I also served this with 'Cucumber feta cheese and Mint #135455'.This is great for when you just want something different. Tip: Flavors all flow really nicely with a glass (or two) of chardonnay.

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this was so yummy! i substituted fake meat and omitted butter completely from the recipe, it still turned out perfectly creamy and delicious. i'll definitely be making this again and again. thanks for posting!

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I wish I could give this more stars! It was soooooo good! I ate a large portion and kept going back for more. It was my first time making it and not my last! I tossed the pasta w/ melted margarine and used real butter for white sauce. I also added a few more pinches of nutmeg to sauce only cuz I like nutmeg. Great recipe and I cant wait to cook it for others!

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This a great recipe! Not too complex and lots of bechamel sauce with the custard texture which is superb! Kept to the recipe except for adding half a cup of parmesan in the bechamel sauce. Thanks for posting!!

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This is the best pastitio I have ever made! I did sweeten the sauce slightly with 2 TBS of sugar, but otherwise followed the directions exactly.

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My first time making pastitsio, but won't be my last. This is really delicious and despite the fact that you are preparing three different things at the same time, quite easy to put together-though you will dirty a few dishes ;} I added in two finely minced garlic cloves (step 3) just because we are garlic lovers, otherwise followed recipe exactly. The 11x7 baking dish is perfect, too. Thanks for posting !

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Fantastic. It tasted just like the pastitsio I order from restaurants when I go to Greece. I've longed to make it for many years, and now I can.

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-This was a great dish! I was searching for a recipe that I could make with what I had on-hand in the kitchen, and this was perfect. I made this for my husband, sister, and her boyfriend and they all loved it. Thanks for a great recipe! :)

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This dish turned out wonderfully! Everybody loved it! I asked my guests if there was anything I could have done to make it better and no one could think of anything. I will make it again soon1

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Excellent, easy and not expensive. Who could ask for more?

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Yummy! We really enjoyed this. I didn't have any bucatini or ziti pasta, so I substituted what I had on hand and it worked really well. I also added some sliced black olives to the meat mixture and subbed oregano for the mint. Definitely a recipe that I will make again, thanks for posting.

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Excellent - easy to make, beyond tasty and it really impressed my husband. The bucatini was a bit expensive, so I'll try a different pasta but otherwise, awesome!

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The steps are very well ordered and easy to follow. I've used the recipe several time, with it getting easier each time!

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