Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta with Cinnamon Beef & Béchamel)

Name: Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta with Cinnamon Beef & Béchamel)
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1½ lb ground beef; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 21 oz crushed tomatoes (¾ of a 28 oz can); 12 oz ziti, penne or bucatini; 5 tbsp butter; 3 cups milk; 5 oz grated Parmesan, divided; 2 eggs, separated; 3 oz feta, crumbled; 2 tbsp olive oil; ½ cup flour; ½ cup dry red wine; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ¼ tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp sugar; 1 bay leaf; salt; pepper

DinnerGreek120 minServes 6910 kcal44 g protein

Photo: Katrin Morenz from Aachen, Deutschland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Greece's answer to lasagna: a layer of tubular pasta bound with feta, a thick beef sauce warmed with cinnamon and cloves, and a deep, golden cheese béchamel on top. A crowd-pleasing Sunday bake.

Make it part of your week. MealTote sizes this recipe for everyone you cook for, adds it to a weekly meal plan and puts the ingredients on one grocery list split across your stores. Open it in MealTote

Ingredients

1½ lb ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
21 oz crushed tomatoes (¾ of a 28 oz can)
12 oz ziti, penne or bucatini
5 tbsp butter
3 cups milk
5 oz grated Parmesan, divided
2 eggs, separated
3 oz feta, crumbled

From your pantry: 2 tbsp olive oil, ½ cup flour, ½ cup dry red wine, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp sugar, 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper.

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high and cook the onion and garlic 3 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned. Add the wine and cook until mostly evaporated.
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, bay leaf, 1 tsp salt and pepper. Simmer gently, uncovered, 40 to 45 minutes until thick with little liquid left. Let cool a bit.
For the béchamel, melt the butter over medium, whisk in the flour for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon heavily, about 5 minutes. Off the heat stir in the nutmeg, half the Parmesan and ½ tsp salt; cool 5 minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Cook the pasta 1 minute short of the package time and drain. Cool 3 minutes, then stir in the egg whites, feta and a handful of Parmesan.
Spread the pasta in a 9x13-inch dish, top with the meat sauce, then pour over the béchamel and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
Bake until deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Tip: Kefalotyri is the traditional Greek cheese for pastitsio; Pecorino Romano is the closest supermarket swap if you want more bite than Parmesan.