Some prep will definitely help, so before you start cooking, have the vegetables chopped, the rest of the ingredients measured and the egg yolks separated from the whites.
Translation | Amaryllis Tsegou
With a little planning, you can even prepare all the components of the pastitsio using just one pot. First boil the pasta, then rinse the pot and use it to prepare the meat sauce. After washing it again, finish by making the béchamel.
Greek pastitsio
Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 1 hour and 20 mins | Total time: 1 hour and 35 mins | Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the pasta
- 500 g pasta for pastitsio
- 3 egg whites
- 200 g feta cheese, crumbled
- 30 ml olive oil
For the meat sauce
- 500 g ground beef
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 300 g tomato sauce
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ bunch parsley
- salt and freshly ground pepper
For the béchamel
- 100 g butter
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 1 L milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 100 g feta cheese, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
For the pasta
- For the pastitsio, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water for 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain, drizzle with the olive oil and stir to combine.
- Transfer the pasta to a lightly greased 35 x 25 cm baking dish, add the egg whites, feta cheese, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
For the meat sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat and sauté the onions for 3–4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook briefly, then add the ground beef. Break it up with a spoon and cook for 4–5 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato sauce, salt and freshly ground pepper and cook over low heat until the sauce has absorbed all its liquid, about 10–20 minutes.
- Once ready, sprinkle with the parsley and set aside.
For the béchamel
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk for a few minutes until the flour is lightly toasted.
- Gradually add the milk in several batches, whisking continuously to keep the béchamel smooth and free of lumps.
- As the sauce thickens, stir constantly to prevent it from sticking. As soon as it begins to bubble, remove it from the heat.
- Season with salt and pepper and stir to lower the temperature slightly. Add the egg yolks and mix well to combine.
For the pastitsio
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
- Spread the meat sauce evenly over the pasta, then cover with the béchamel.
- Sprinkle with feta cheese (or another cheese of your choice) and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
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