002Pastitsio

Method

Classic baked tubular pasta. Cuts into 8 generous square portions.

You will need

• 33 x 23 cm baking dish
• large saucepan
• whisk
• pasta pot
• colander

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. 4 min Ready when: Onions are softened
2. Add the minced beef and cook, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until thoroughly browned, about 8 minutes. 8 min Ready when: Mince is browned and separated
3. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, add the tinned tomatoes, half a teaspoon of salt, and a generous pinch of pepper; simmer over low heat until the liquid is fully reduced, about 25 minutes. 25 min Ready when: Mince sauce is thick and dense without loose liquid
4. For the béchamel, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour flavour. 2 min Ready when: Roux forms a smooth, bubbling paste
5. Gradually pour in the warm milk while whisking vigorously to avoid lumps, bring to a gentle boil, and cook until thickened and smooth, about 6 minutes. 6 min Ready when: Sauce is thick and coats the whisk
6. Remove the béchamel from the heat, allow to cool slightly for 5 minutes, then whisk in two of the beaten eggs, reserving one egg. 5 min Ready when: Eggs are smoothly incorporated
7. Cook tubular macaroni in salted boiling water until al dente, drain thoroughly, toss in the remaining beaten egg and two tablespoons of the béchamel, and spread evenly into a buttered 33 x 23 cm baking dish. 10 min Ready when: Pasta is lightly bound together
8. Spread the cooked meat sauce evenly across the pasta layer, then pour over the béchamel and smooth the top with a spatula. 5 min Ready when: Surface is even and neat
9. Bake in a conventional oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. 45 min · 180°C / 350°F Ready when: Béchamel is richly browned and set
10. Leave to rest for at least 25 minutes before slicing, allowing the interior layers to set so the portions cut neatly. 25 min Ready when: Slices cut into clean cubes

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Make ahead and storing

Can be fully assembled and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.

Refrigerate up to 3 days; holds shape and reheats well.

Substitutions

• half beef, half pork mince for minced beef. Gives a softer, juicier meat layer favoured by many home cooks.

Common mistakes

• Overcooking the pasta before baking. The pasta will absorb moisture from the sauces in the oven and turn to mush.
• Omitting the egg binder in the pasta layer. Without egg or sauce to bind them, the pasta tubes roll loose and scatter when sliced.

Regional variants

• Corfiot pastitsio encased in a sweet shortcrust pastry with hard-boiled eggs and salado salami.

About the dish

Pastitsio traces its ancestry to the Venetian-ruled Ionian Islands, where elaborate pasta pies known as pasticcio were encased in sweet or savoury pastry. In the early twentieth century, Athenian chef Nikolaos Tselementes restructured the recipe for the urban middle-class table by eliminating the pastry crust and crowning long tubular pasta and spiced mince with a generous blanket of French-style béchamel.

Found in all of Greece, Ionian Islands. Cooked for everyday, sunday lunch.

Cousins elsewhere

• Pasticcio (Italian). Derived from the Venetian pasticcio pie, which originally enveloped seasoned pasta and meats in pastry.
• Makaronia tou Fournou (Cypriot). The Cypriot cousin relies heavily on dry mint and halloumi or anari cheese throughout the pasta and béchamel.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

461 kcal · protein 23.7 g · fat 32.2 g (saturated 14.1 g) · carbohydrate 19.4 g (sugars 9.2 g) · fibre 1.4 g · sodium 207 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Following the twentieth-century classic Greek home-style traybake..

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Read more

• Greek Food and Its Neighbours: A Shared Table in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Moussaka and Tselementes: How a Modern Classic Was Codified