GreekFoodTv☼ Pastitsio - Greek Baked Pasta, Ground Meat Sauce, Bechamel

Pastitsio, is classic Greek comfort food and great festive fare, a rich, filling, dish that kids and grown ups alike love. For recipe, press more button.
8-10 servings

¼ cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil, plus more for the pan
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 ½ pounds ground lean beef
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced (optional)
3 cups peeled and chopped plum tomatoes
2 cinnamon sticks
5-6 allspice berries
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 ½ pounds tubular pasta
Grated kefalotyri, to taste

For the Béchamel Sauce
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4-5 cups warm milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated nutmeg, to taste
2 eggs
1 cup grated kefalotyri cheese

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add ground meat and continue stirring until meat begins to brown. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, bay leaf, and wine. Stir well to combine. Lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the sauce is thick and the meat is cooked, about 35 to 40 minutes (add water if necessary during cooking). Remove pan from heat; let meat cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente (it should be a littler firmer than normal). Remove and drain. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to keep it from sticking.
3. Béchamel sauce: In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat, add flour and whisk until the flour is no longer raw and has a nice golden color. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking all the while until sauce is creamy and thick but still poorable. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat; whisk in vigorously 2 whole eggs. Stir in the grated cheese and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Lightly grease an 11X15X3-inch baking pan with olive oil.
5. Spread 1/3 of the pasta evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese, spread a ladleful of béchamel evenly on the top. Remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaf from the meat sauce and spread 1/3 evenly over pasta. Repeat the layers with pasta, béchamel, cheese, meat sauce spreading evenly each time. Top with last layer of pasta, add the remaining meat sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and pour in the remaining béchamel sauce.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until the béchamel sauce thickens and swells and a golden brown crust forms on top. Let cool slightly and serve.

This is the Greek Food Channel http://www.dianekochilas.com/
Come to visit Diane and Vassili at their GLORIOUS GREEK KITCHEN COOKING SCHOOL (Ikaria). They run cooking classes and organize culinary tours in Greece for recreational and professional cooks. They also own DV FOOD ARTS CONSULTING, a food marketing company that produces specialty books and other food-and-wine-related literature for a wide variety of clients and independently for the tourist and other markets. Diane consults on Greek cuisine for restaurants, retail outlets and producers of fine Greek foods. Vassilis Stenos (photographer) offers an extensive archive of food and travel photographs of Greece.

Diane Kochilas is an internationally known food writer, cookbook author, culinary teacher, food consultant and food "guru". She has more than 20 years' experience in the Greek kitchen. Diane divides her time between Athens, Ikaria, and New York. She is the consulting chef at Pylos, one of New York's top-rated Greek restaurants as well as consulting chef at Avli Restaurant in Chicago. She writes frequently for the US food press and appears regularly on American television. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur, Food & Wine, Eating Well and in other food and general-interest publications. In Athens, she is the weekly food columnist and restaurant critic for Ta Nea, the country's largest newspaper. She has written 19 books on Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, including the award-winning The Glorious Foods of Greece. Her books include: The Food and Wine of Greece, The Greek Vegetarian, The Glorious Foods of Greece, Meze, Against the Grain (good carbs), Mediterranean Grilling, Mastiha Cuisine, The Northern Greek Wine Roads Cookbook, and Aegean Cuisine (see below).

She is also a consultant for Hellenic Gourmet, the duty free food shops at the Venizelos International Airport and around Greece, to help upgrade the store's selection and source product. Her knowledge of Greek regional foods, wines, and culinary lore is extensive.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• recipe
• Greek
• Greece
• Mediterranean diet
• traditional
• main course
• pasta
• ground meat
• instruction
• olive oil
• extra virgin
• lunch
• dinner
• dishes
• meals
• cuisine
• bechamel
• cinnamon
• Ikaria
• Blue Zones

[eliasmanosnorway]

Please stop this thing immidiatly!!!

NO WINE and NO TOMATOES for Gods sake!

We never do it like this.

Trava spiti sou re kai ase th mageirikh gia autous pou kseroun

[malarz18]

no tomatoes

[GreeKPryNZeS]

bla h profora sou einai xalia :s but good job.

[gloup81]

@MarcelleSM haha , indeed its three foods in one , its a rather cold plate ( somes prefer it the minute it gets of the oven ) and u always make enough so not to have to cook again in the same day :p

[gloup81]

@eliasmanosnorway an eisoun sxetikos kai su omws tha eleges oti h mpesamel tou pastitsiou de ftiaxnete me gala alla me nero , auto leei h authentikh suntagh , opws katalabeneis einai thema epiloghs kai ase tis eksupnades h toulaxisto kouta na eisai enhmerwmenos prin to paikseis eksupnos ...

[TheBronx98]

this a turkish dish

[FillthyRythmsxx]

when i eat this shit i teer up

[giorgito24]

@eliasmanosnorway giat re file ..?? afou xeris kalitera giati den mas dihnis esi......

[Blame125]

You don't use wine, and not bayleaf :( And you use more olive oil.

Also you mix the ground beef with the makaroni so it will be some in every bite.

Good work on the besamel though.

[MarcelleSM]

i did it last night !! came out really good. The only turn off was that it toke me 3 and half hours to make it :( everybody was starving HAHA but great video !!! by the way i watched it so many times i had dreams about the pastitsio all NIIIIIIGHTTTTTTTT :)

[animastudiosky]

I want eat original greek :)