Description
Authentic Greek Pastitsio is the ultimate Greek comfort bake featuring layers of pasta, spiced meat sauce, and an ultra-creamy béchamel sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 400g Bucatini or ziti pasta
- 500g Ground beef
- 500ml Béchamel sauce
- 100g Kefalotyri or parmesan cheese
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 400g Tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 150ml Red wine
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Clove
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 50g Butter
- 50g Flour
- 500ml Whole milk
- 2 Egg whites
- 2 Egg yolks
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente, drain, and mix with egg whites and grated cheese; set aside.
- Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil, add ground beef, and brown well.
- Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, cinnamon, clove, salt, and pepper; simmer until thick.
- Make béchamel: melt butter, whisk in flour, slowly add milk until smooth and thick.
- Remove béchamel from heat; whisk in egg yolks, nutmeg, and cheese.
- Layer pasta, meat sauce, then béchamel in a greased baking dish.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) until deeply golden and set; rest 20 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, substitute ground beef with lentils or mushrooms.
- Let the pastitsio rest before slicing for cleaner pieces.
- Serve with a side salad for a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 100mg