Pasticcio

CountryLady's Note:

Not exactly Greek - not exactly Italian - from Pasta Quick & Easy! Prepare in advance, put in the oven after work, make a salad & you've got dinner.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, deseeded & chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 (14 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 (1 3/4 ounce) can anchovies, drained & chopped
• salt & pepper

PASTA

• 8 ounces fusilli or 8 ounces other short pasta, shapes
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

TOPPING

• 1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. SAUCE: Heat oil in large skillet; cook onion& pepper for 3 minutes.
2. Add garlic, stir& cook for 1 more minute.
3. Add beef& cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink- about 10 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes& wine; bring to a boil, lower heat& simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until sauce is fairly thick.
5. Stir in parsley& anchovies; season to taste.
6. PASTA: Cook in boiling salted water for 8- 10 minutes, or until tender.
7. Drain& transfer to a bowl.
8. Stir in the cream& set aside.
9. TOPPING: Beat yoghurt, eggs& nutmeg until well combined; season to taste.
10. ASSEMBLY: Brush a large, shallow ovenproof dish with oil (or spray with Pam).
11. Spoon in 1/2 the pasta mixture& cover with 1/2 the meat mixture.
12. Repeat these 2 layers.
13. Spread the topping over the final layer& sprinkle evenly with cheese.
14. COOKING: Bake in preheated 375F oven for 25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown& bubbling.

Reviews

[chia]

this is quick and easy, but a bit bland for our taste. i also found that while the topping cooked up well the inside was a bit watery, we prefer our sauce a bit thicker.

[Pink Princess]

This is a fantastic base dish. I added 3 tsp of cornflour because of the last reviewer, as well as 4 carrots, 100g mushrooms, 1 green pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper. Very nice. I used sour cream instead of full cream - it was ok, but I don't recommend it :-) I'm not going to add stars because I made so many additions but it was a great base dish. I think I'll add even more veggies next time - maybe sweet potato and broccoli. If I wasn't weight conscious right now I would quadruple the cheese - it was nice the way it was but would have been purely indulgent with extra cheese. After all that rambling - in conclusion, this is a great base recipe but in my opinion needs adjustments to whatever your taste is.