pastitsio ii
Recipes

Pastitsio II
A Greek lasagna-style pasta bake layered with ground meat, cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce, and creamy béchamel. Comforting and full of Mediterranean flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry ziti pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 dash ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 cups milk
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 egg, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and return to pan.
- Melt butter until golden brown and pour over ziti, add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, pepper and toss well; allow to cool. Add eggs and toss again; set aside.
- To make meat sauce: Gently fry onion and garlic in butter in a skillet until onion is soft. Increase heat and add ground beef; stir well.
- Cook until meat begins to brown. Add tomato paste, wine, broth, parsley, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- To make cream sauce: Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and cook gently for 2 minutes. Pour in milk all at once and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil gently for 1 minute. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and cool slightly before stirring in beaten egg. Transfer 1/2 cup of this sauce to the meat sauce.
- To assemble pastitsio: Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon half of the prepared ziti evenly in the bottom and top with meat sauce.
- Top that with remaining ziti. Pour on cream sauce and spread to completely cover ziti. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.