Papou's Pastitsio (Grecian Baked Pasta)

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Recipe's preparation

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180C. Oil a deep glass rectangular baking dish, approximately 2.5 quart size. 

Grate the cheese: Place the cheese in the TM bowl  7 secs/speed 7. Set aside.

Tomato juice: If using fresh tomatoes, place them in the TM bowl 30 secs/speed 9. Strain & discard the seeds & residues & set aside the juice 

Making the Meat Sauce and the Bechamel Sauce

Making the Greek Bechamel Sauce: Place all the ingredients in the TM bowl & cook 7 minutes/90C/speed 4. Set aside.

The Meat Sauce: Place olive oil and onions in TM bowl. Saute 3 minutes/100C/speed 5.

Browning the meat: Add the meat to TM bowl. Cook 5 minutes/100//speed .

Add herbs, spices, wine & the reserved tomato juice, and wine. Cook 10 minutes//100C//speed , allowing the liquid to be absorbed. Set aside & clean the TM bowl.

Making the Pasta Mixture

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta and salt to the water and parboil it until soft but not fully cooked (about 3/4 of the suggested cooking time on the package).

Drain the water completely from the pasta pot, and quickly add the two tablespoons of olive oil to the pasta and mix well to ensure a thorough coating of oil so the pasta does not get sticky. 

Let stand for a few minutes to cool, and then add the egg whites to the pasta, along with the ¼ cup of grated cheese and mix well, then set aside momentarily.

Assembling the Pastitsio

Add about two-thirds of the pasta to the baking dish to form a bottom layer. Make sure to spread the pasta evenly in order to completely cover the bottom of the dish, make sure not to leave any empty spaces.

Spread the meat sauce over the top of the bottom pasta layer, ensuring to distribute it evenly and right to the edges of the casserole. The meat layer must be of uniform thickness and must not have any gaps.

Add the remaining pasta over the top of the meat layer, distributing it evenly.





Pour the béchamel sauce over of the final pasta layer, make sure to cover the entire surface area of the dish. The bechamel will partially infiltrate the pastitsio layers, but it should also make a nice, thick, creamy top layer.

Baking the Pastitsio





Place the uncovered pastitsio dish in the pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until the bechamel sauce is well browned on top.

Remove the pastitsio from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, cut into squares, and note that if cut too soon, the layers may fall apart.




 




This dish is actually best the day after cooking, and also good cold. Simply refrigerate, and heat well before ccooking and serving.