Pastitsio is mom’s “favorite dish” and all of our favorite since early childhood.
It holds within it all the warmth of the family home, the care shown to the members of a family, the sweet feeling of sharing around the Sunday table. Pastitsio and moussaka “speak” to our souls.
The phrase “I’m going to make a pastitsio” foretells a gathering of close and loved ones enjoying the irresistible dish with its rich béchamel cream and fragrant minced meat.
These beloved memories are what make all of us give in when faced with generous pieces of pastitsio, and so many of us look for easy ways to make this “fussy” dish.
Homemade béchamel has the reputation of being a somewhat difficult cream, requiring skill and technique to make. That is not exactly true… It does require a certain process, of course, but every minute is worth it for the result.
Keep in mind that pastitsio is a large amount of pasta with minced meat plus a silky and—ultimately—easy cream.
Béchamel follows the “golden rule” of 10%, meaning that for 1 liter of milk we need 100 grams of butter and 100 grams of flour. This rule allows you to have a proper cream in terms of proportions and therefore texture.
Follow the process you see in the pastitsio video and you will find that, even from the very first attempts, you can achieve a respectable béchamel cream.
Allow yourself to use a hand mixer or immersion blender to get rid of any lumps that may form. This may happen the first few times until you get the hang of it; after that, it will be “child’s play.”
Ingredients for Pastitsio
For the minced meat sauce
- 1 kg ground beef
- 2 large dry onions, finely chopped or pureed
- 400 g pureed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 100 ml red wine
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- salt and pepper
- olive oil (about 4-5 tablespoons)
½ kg thick pasta for pastitsio
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For the béchamel
- 1,500 ml fresh milk (lukewarm)
- 150 g butter
- 150 g all-purpose flour or a mix of flour and cornstarch
- grated nutmeg (about ½ teaspoon)
- 120 g grated cheese (kefalotyri or kefalograviera or parmesan)
- 1-2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Instructions
In a large, deep frying pan, add the olive oil and let it heat up. Add the onion and a little salt, and stir well until softened.
Add the ground meat to the pan, break it up with a wooden spatula, and add salt and pepper. Stir very well until all the lumps of meat are broken up.
Add the cinnamon sticks and the bay leaves. Deglaze with the wine and stir continuously until the alcohol evaporates.
Add the tomato paste as well and stir until it spreads everywhere and the meat takes on a slightly red color.
Pour in the tomato juice as well. Stir and lower the heat. Let the minced meat simmer for at least 1 hour.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water. Leave it al dente, meaning still fairly firm. If the recommended cooking time is 8 minutes, we boil it for only 5.
Drain it, add a little olive oil, stir, and leave it in the pot until the béchamel is ready as well.
We prepare the béchamel for the pastitsio
In a pot, add the butter; once it melts and heats well, add the flour and stir constantly with a whisk. Lower the heat. As an indication, on the classic stove scale that usually goes up to 9, set it to 3. Stir continuously until the flour and butter become a smooth cream and cook very lightly. Be careful, because the mixture burns easily. We only want it to turn slightly blond so the béchamel has a nice flavor and not a raw flour taste.
Gradually begin to pour in the milk while stirring constantly with the whisk.
If the béchamel forms lumps, keep stirring vigorously and they will disappear. As long as the béchamel is on the heat and we stir the mixture, it thickens and becomes smooth.
If, however, your béchamel is not smooth, you can use an immersion blender or hand mixer to break up the lumps.
Add salt and nutmeg. Stir well, and when you see that the béchamel has the texture of a thick cream, remove it from the heat.
Assembly
In an ovenproof dish or baking pan, drizzle a little olive oil and spread it well over the base and sides. Sprinkle with a little breadcrumbs.
In a large bowl, place the hot pasta. Grind in a little pepper and nutmeg. Add grated cheese and mix. Add a little more cheese and a few spoonfuls of béchamel, about 5-6. Mix well. The pasta will look as if it has cream cheese on it; that is the texture created by the grated cheese with the béchamel.
Spread ⅔ of the pasta in the dish, distributing it so that it has roughly the same thickness everywhere.
Pour the minced meat sauce over it.
Spread the remaining pasta on top.
Finally, spread the béchamel on top and smooth its surface. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and the breadcrumbs.
Bake the pastitsio with top and bottom heat at 180°C for about 40 minutes.
Let it cool slightly and serve the dish with salad.
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