Pastitsio - Greek Lasagna

KelBel's Note:

This is a simple version of a Greek classic.

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

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 ½ lbs ground lamb or 1 ½ lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion , diced
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 2 eggs , lightly beaten
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta and drain.
3. While pasta is cooking, brown meat in heavy skillet, add onion and garlic and cook until soft.
4. Mix in cinnamon and tomato sauce.
5. In a saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisk in milk and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Add beaten eggs and 1/4 cup parmesan to white sauce.
7. In a buttered two quart casserole dish, add half pasta, top with meat mixture, add the rest of the pasta.
8. Pour white sauce over the top.
9. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.
10. Bake 60 minutes.

Reviews

[Chef Larson]

I'm sorry, but this was not good. I've had pastitsio several times in my life and it's always been so tasty, this recipe is very bland. I realized right after taking my first bite that this recipe didn't have any salt in the ingredients. I added my own after the fact, which made it a little better, but was still not as tasty as the other times I've eaten pastitsio. Also it says to bake this in a 2 quart casserole dish and that would've been way too small, I used my 3-quart dish and it all fit perfectly. I'm not going to throw it out, it is still edible, but I would definitely recommend FOLLOWING A DIFFERENT RECIPE FOR PASTITSIO, NOT THIS ONE. (Especially one that has salt in it.)

[bluemoon downunder]

L-o-v-e Greek dishes and Pastitsio has always been a favourite - a dish I often just cannot resist ordering when eating in Greek restaurants. This “simple� version amply certainly satisfied my tastebuds, and the three family members whom I served it to SO obviously enjoyed it: they all decided to skip dessert and came back for seconds! I am just SO delighted to have found this recipe: thank you KelBel! As other reviewers have commented, this was a really easy recipe to follow - an added bonus when time is at a premium. I made mine with lamb. The only changes I made were that I doubled the garlic – can rarely resist doing that – and I used really flavoursome Italian canned tomatoes – coarsely chopped and with a generous sprinkling of oregano and basil – instead of the tomato sauce. What will I be doing next time I make this? Doubling the recipe so there’s some extra serves to stash away in the freezer!

[Vasi78]

Very tasty~I used only part of this recipe-preparation of the meat and pasta. I used evelyn/athens recipe for the bechamel sauce. I added several spoons of the bechamel into the pasta before layering it in the casserole dish (this is my mom's secret to keep it together better). Overall, these two fantastic chefs deserve 5 stars and two thumbs up!! My husband loved it!!!!