Month: November 2021

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DAD’S PASTITSIO

This recipe was contributed by Maria Tsagrinos in honor of her father.

Maria Tsagrinos' Dad

Meat Sauce Ingredients

  • ½ stick butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 lg. yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. oregano
  • salt
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 carton basil
  • 2 lbs. ground beef
  • 1 pkg. sage pork sausage
  • 1 lg. can (1lb.) tomato sauce
  • 2 reg. cans sliced, stewed tomatoes, Italian Style
  • ½ clove nutmeg, grated
  • 2-3 bay leaves

Preparation: Meat Sauce

  • Mix red wine and tomato paste in a small bowl or cup, set aside.
  • In large saucepan, heat oil/butter.
  • Add onions, sauté until translucent.
  • Add garlic, oregano, meat, and salt to taste. Brown the meat, slowly adding small portions of the **tomato paste/wine mixture throughout browning process.
  • **Add SLOWLY so as not to cool temperature of browning ingredients drastically.
  • Add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chopped basil, bay leaves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Turn down heat, and let sauce simmer for one hour.

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • ½ cup and 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 qt. whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 pinch fresh nutmeg
  • salt, pepper to taste
  • 1 cup grated parmesan

Bechamel Preparation:

  • In saucepan, melt butter on medium heat.
  • Add flour, whisk until smooth (about 2 minutes).
  • While stirring continuously, add milk **gradually until all gone.
  • Whisk well until smooth.
  • Simmer until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 10 mins.)
  • Remove from heat.
  • Stir in nutmeg, cheese, salt, and pepper.

Preparing Pastitsio

Additional Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. penne
  • 1 ¼ cup fresh grated parmesan or kefalotiri
  • 1 Pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • While the meat sauce is simmering, prepare the pasta. Cook until slightly underdone, remove, drain, toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • In an 11x15x3-inch baking pan, add 1/2 the pasta for the first layer and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Add the meat sauce evenly over the pasta, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Add the remaining pasta on top. Carefully pour the béchamel evenly over the top.
  • Bake at 350F (160C) for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese and nutmeg / cinnamon (optional) on top, and continue to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes until the sauce rises and turns golden brown.
  • Remove from oven, cool for 20 minutes. Cut, and serve.