Pastitsio

Michelle Berteig's Note:

This is a very good recipe, my family really likes it. It's from a 1980 edition of Better Homes and Gardens All-TIme Favorite Hamburger and Ground Meat Recipes cookbook. Typed here for future reference, as I am always misplacing the cookbook! I usually double the bechamel sauce, since we like it that way.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 6 ounces elbow macaroni (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 egg , beaten
• 1⁄3; cup parmesan cheese , grated
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 lb ground lamb or 1 lb ground beef
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄8; teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 egg , beaten
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese , grated
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. For the pasta, cook macaroni until just done, drain. Add one beaten egg, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup milk. Mix and set aside.
2. For the meat sauce, cook the meat and onion in a skillet until the meat is brown, drain off the fat. Add tomato sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. For the sauce, melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan. Add in flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the milk slowly and cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir a small amount of the hot mixture into one beaten egg, return that mixture to the rest of the sauce in the pan. Add the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
4. To assemble, put half the macaroni into an 8 x 8 inch square pan. Add the meat sauce next, then the rest of the macaroni on top of that. Add the sauce over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[Debbie R.]

Absolutely excellent! Much better than any pastitsio I've tasted in restaurants. I doubled the bechamel as suggested. I only had 1/2 lb. burger, so I used 1/2 lb. veggie crumbles too. I used a 13x9-pan because I don't think it would have fit in the 8x8 with doubled bechamel. ZWT6

[alligirl]

Sure did enjoy this dish! I reduced mine by 1/3, to make 4 servings. The ratios on Zaar aren't quite right, but close enough! I used 1 beaten egg, between the noodles and the sauce and everything worked out just fine! I cooked it in a 9 inch glass pie dish and we were rewarded with a wonderful dish, very reminiscent of one I enjoy locally! Great News - This can be done on a weeknight! Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle Berteig. Made for ZWT.

[Chocolatl]

This is an excellent, easy recipe for one of my favorite dishes. My husband enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today as much as we enjoyed the original last night. Next time I'll do as the intro suggests and double the amount of bechamel. Thanks for posting! Made for ZWT 6.