Pastitsio Perfection (Παστίτσιο)

Pastitsio is to Greek cuisine what Lasagna is to Italian cooking. This classic Greek recipe makes for an excellent winter comfort meal. Served with a side of mixed green salad dressed with wine vinegar and Greek extra virgin olive oil, this is one meal that is sure to please guests and family.

A piece of Pastichio Perfection. Click to Enlarge Image.

Now, I am not in the habit of watching much television, especially the daytime major American network programs. However, today, as I was feeding my son his bottle I happened to catch Rachel Ray making what she called “Greek Baked Ziti” which we Greeks know as Pastitsio [pronounced as pa-STEE-tsee-oh]. At best, it was amusing to watch her pretend to know what she was doing. Unfortunately, within a few minutes it became painfully obvious that she really did not have a clue; and when her frustration started to show, it was embarrassing to think that her audience would walk away with such a bastardized version of a classic Greek food recipe planted in their heads.

So, in order to straighten Rachel out, I thought I would offer up my mother’s recipe for Pastitsio. I have been enjoying this dish as long as I can remember - it happens to be one of my all-time favourite Greek recipes. There are three components in the construction of this famous pasta casserole dish, and each must be attended to individually before combining them to achieve the final product.

The first component is a ground meat sauce which is similar to one that Greeks often serve over macaroni as detailed in my previous post: Macaroni, Makaronia, Makaronada, and Pasta… Similar, but not the same; one does not add cinnamon or any other aromatic spice to the meat sauce for Pastitsio. Why? Because it is overkill! Only the top layer of Béchamel Sauce gets a hint of nutmeg which then permeates the casserole as it bakes. I have seen so-called Pastitsio recipes on some other blogs which mix cinnamon and allspice in with the meat sauce, and then they complete their muddle of flavours with the requisite nutmeg in the Béchamel sauce!

Next, you need to use the right pasta. Several Greek brands of what is known as the “No. 2” macaroni shape are available in Greece and in Greek specialty shops abroad (also in some of the better stocked mainstream supermarkets). However, if you do not happen to have a Greek market, deli, or bakery nearby, and simply cannot find the Greek pasta, you can use either one of two more widely available Italian pasta shapes which are similar to the Greek noodle, these are as follows:

• Buctani: A thick Spaghetti style pasta which is hollow through the center, similar to a drinking straw. (Of the two Italian shapes listed here, this one is the closer approximation to the Greek No. 2 pasta size).
• Ziti: A larger diameter long-cut and smooth surface hollow (tubular) pasta shape.

Though it is also possible to use Penne pasta for this dish (my mother-in-law often does) I prefer sticking as close as possible to the classic composition for the sake of authenticity and ease of assembly.

Lastly, there is the Béchamel (i.e. White) Sauce that is poured overtop of the assembled casserole before it goes into the oven, and which forms a wonderful top layer and slight crust to the dish. For another classic béchamel-topped Greek casserole dish see my Marvelous Moussaka recipe.

My Pastitsio straight out of the oven. Click to Enlarge Image.

I used a CorningWare 2.5-qt. Oval Casserole without the lid to bake my Pastitsio. The depth of this type of baking dish allows for a nice layered height in the finished product. As with many Greek recipes, and most especially with casseroles, this dish is best consumed on the following day after its baking; simply refrigerate and heat well before cutting and serving.

Ingredients:

The Meat Sauce

1 ½ lbs. ground veal (or beef, though minced lamb can also be used)

1 large or 2 medium-sized yellow onion(s), finely diced

1 tsp. (5 ml.) dried rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1 ½ cups (375 ml.) fresh strained tomato juice (or ¼ cup tomato paste diluted in 1½ cups of water.)

¼ cup (60 ml.) white wine

¼ cup (60 ml.) - ⅓ cup (80 ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

The Pasta

1 lb. of Greek No.2 pasta (or Bucatini, or Ziti, as noted above)

2 tbsp. (30ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil

3 egg whites, beaten (the yolks will be used in the béchamel sauce)

¼ cup (60 ml.) grated Kefalotyri (or Parmesan cheese if you try but cannot find the Greek cheese)

The Béchamel Sauce

4 cups (1 litre) of scalded milk

1 cup (250 ml.) all-purpose flour

¾ cup (180 ml.) grated Kefalotyri (or Parmesan cheese if you really cannot find the Greek cheese)

½ cup (125 ml.) of salted butter

3 egg yolks, well beaten

½ - 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Assembly:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the diced onion(s) over a medium heat until soft. Add the ground veal to the pan and break it up thoroughly. Keep stirring constantly over a medium high heat for 5 minutes or so to brown all of the meat and mingle it completely with the onion.
2. Once the meat is completely browned, add the rosemary, garlic, wine, and the fresh tomato juice (or tomato paste diluted in water) to the pan along with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Bring to a boil, add the bay leaves and make sure to immerse them in the sauce, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with its lid leaving it only slightly uncovered to allow the excess water to evaporate as steam. Simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Stir the sauce occasionally. When ready, the meat will have absorbed the liquid in the pan. Remove the bay leaves and set aside when done.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta to the water and parboil it until soft but not fully cooked (about 3/4 of the suggested cooking time on the package).
4. While the pasta is cooking, make the béchamel sauce. Start by melting the butter in a deep saucepan over a medium heat, then, using a whisk or immersion blender with a whisk attachment, slowly incorporate the flour by adding it to the melted butter in stages while stirring continually to avoid the formation of lumps. Once the flour has been fully incorporated, slowly add the hot milk while continuing to constantly stir the butter and flour paste to ensure a smooth consistency. Once the milk has been added, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the grated cheese, nutmeg, pepper and egg yolks in that order while continuing to rapidly stir the mixture. Set aside when smooth and well-mixed. However, do not let it stand for too long without a good stirring as you do not want the top to start congealing. By this point your pasta should be ready.
5. Drain the water completely from the pasta pot and return pot with pasta to the heat, add the two tablespoons of olive oil to the pasta and mix well to ensure a thorough coating of oil as we do not want the pasta to get sticky. Remove the pot from the heat, let stand for a few minutes to cool and then add the egg whites to the pasta, along with the ¼ cup of grated Kefalotyri cheese and mix well, then set aside momentarily.
6. Rub a little olive into the sides and bottom of your baking dish, and then add about two-thirds of the pasta to the dish to form a bottom layer. Make sure to spread the pasta evenly in order to completely cover the bottom of the dish, make sure not to leave any empty spaces.
7. Spread the meat sauce overtop of the bottom pasta layer, ensuring to distribute it evenly and right to the edges of the casserole. The meat layer must be of uniform thickness and must not have any gaps.
8. Add the remaining pasta overtop of the meat layer, distributing it evenly.
9. Pour the béchamel sauce over of the final pasta layer, make sure to cover the entire surface area of the dish.
10. Place the casserole uncovered in an oven pre-heated to 350°F (180°C) and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the béchamel sauce is golden brown.
11. Remove casserole from oven and set aside to cool before serving. As already mentioned above, this dish is best served on the following day after its baking. However, if you must eat it on the same day, make sure it has a chance to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting it into pieces. Do not make the mistake of cutting it before it has had a chance to cool, you will end up with messy servings. Cut it only when it has cooled, (ideally overnight in the refrigerator) and warm the pieces before serving.

Makes approximately 8 generous servings

There you have it, Pastitsio Perfection!

Pánta Kalá (Always Be Well),

Sam Sotiropoulos

Greek Gourmand™

http://www.greekgourmand.com

Greek Food Recipes and Reflections

Copyright © 2008, Sam Sotiropoulos. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. Rachel, if you happen to read this, I would be more than happy to show you how to make this dish in person. :-)

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Macaroni, Makaronia, Makaronada, and Pasta… (Μακαρονάδα)

A classic Greek pasta dish - Click to Enlarge Image

For me, this is one of the classic Greek recipes of my childhood. I cut my first teeth on bowls of the stuff and it remains as one of my all time favourite meals. A simple but satisfying lunch or dinner, this Greek pasta dish is a bona fide gem.

Those of you that are familiar with the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding ought to get a chuckle out of this posting. As you will recall from the movie, the father of the bride, Mr. Gus Portokalos (as played by actor Michael Constantine), had a folksy habit of pointing out the Greek etymological origins of common English words. Well then, as Mr. Portokalos might say:

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word macaroni is originally derived from the Greek word makaria ‘food made from barley’ (μακαρία in Gk., pronounced mah-kah-REE-yah). Barley was an all-purpose grain for the ancients and barley meal was used for a variety of purposes including bread baking and as part of sacrificial rites. The makaria was a traditional ancient Greek food eaten at an individual’s wake, which for the Greeks - as with the Irish - is a reception held after a funeral. Some two millennia have passed since this culinary term first appears in the available Greek literature. To this day, the customary dish served at a Greek wake is known as makaronia (pronounced mah-kah-RO-nee-yah).

In Greece, the term makaronia is a generic term that applies to all manner of pasta shapes and sizes. Furthermore, surprising as it may be for some, the actual origin of the Italian word “pasta” is Greek, as well as the word lasagna among other related culinary terms. So, to add my $0.02 to a recent blog discussion on the debate surrounding the origins of pasta… the answer is simple, blame it on the Greeks! After all, the names speak for themselves. Just be sure to take it easy when explaining this to any Italian friends.

Now, the makaronia served at a wake are known as spaghetti in English, and are simply served with a grated Greek cheese known as mizithra or myzithra (pronounced mee-TZEE-thrah) and browned butter. On the other hand, the common everyday ‘garden-variety’ makaronia are similar to what the Italians refer to as tubetti, short tubular pasta shapes. Now, if it happens to be makaronia served with meat sauce it becomes a makaronada (pronounced mah-kah-ro-NAH-tha) and it is always made with a spaghetti type noodle. All quite confusing, I know, but it makes sense to the Greeks, trust me. One more thing, the meat sauce variety is never served at a wake, though the meatless cheese and browned butter variant which is served can also be referred to as a makaronada… [Grin.]

Some mizithra we brought back from Greece - Click to Enlarge Image

It is impossible to write about makaronia and makaronada and not spend some time on mizithra cheese. Mizithra is a traditional Greek cheese and is the forebear of all whey cheeses. It has been made in much the same manner for thousands of years and has its own distinctive aroma and flavour. Mizithra is made from sheep and/or goat milk and can come in a fresh, soft and spreadable form; or aged and shaped almost like a fat-bottomed pear in a hard, salty ball. The soft mizithra has an almost sweet flavour and is used as a spreadable cheese or in baked goods and pastries. On the other hand, the aged salty mizithra variety is almost exclusively used for makaronia and makaronada dishes. Mizithra cheese is designated as PDO/PGI by the European Union.

In my grandmother’s time and for ages before her, the mizithra cheese that was to be dried and aged was hung outdoors in cloth squares called tsantilas (or τσαντίλα in Gk.). A tsantila was pinned up by its four corners and hung from a tree branch; the mass of drying cheese remained suspended in the resulting ball shape which its weight formed in the bottom of the hanging cloth. That is how the hard mizithra cheese gained its distinctive fat bottomed pear-like shape. Now, if you look but cannot find any mizithra at a cheese shop near you, try using parmesan as a substitute (but only as a last resort as the flavour is not the same). Note: Greeks do not use parmesan in traditional pasta dishes, we generally use mizithra. Once you have grated mizithra on your makaronia, you may just develop a taste for it.

Ingredients:

1 lb (½ kg.) lean ground veal
1 white onion (diced)
1 clove of garlic (peeled but whole)
1 medium sized cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 ½ cups (375 ml.) fresh strained tomato juice (or ¼ cup tomato paste diluted in 1½ cups of water.)
¼ cup (60 ml.) white wine
⅓ cup (80 ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil
Spaghetti style pasta
Grated mizithra cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the diced onion until soft. Add the ground veal to the pan and stir it up well to break it up thoroughly. Keep stirring over a medium high heat for 5 minutes or so to brown all of the meat and mingle it completely with the onion.
2. Once the meat is browned, add salt and pepper to taste, the wine, and then add the fresh tomato juice (or tomato paste diluted in water) to the pan and mix well. Bring to a boil, add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and whole garlic clove to the pan, cover them in the sauce, then reduce the heat to a medium low; cover the pan leaving it only slightly uncovered to allow the water to evaporate as steam and then simmer for 30 minutes. We want the sauce to reduce such that the water is steamed away and the tomato and cinnamon hinted olive oil is left behind with the meat. Stir the sauce occasionally to allow the cinnamon essence to completely suffuse the sauce. Note: the cinnamon stick should be no longer than 2 inches (5cm.) as we want the cinnamon to flavour the sauce but not too intensely. When ready, the meat will have absorbed all of the liquid.
3. Boil pasta in a pot until done to your preference, then strain and serve it with a generous sprinkling of grated mizithra cheese and then spoon the meat sauce overtop. Make sure to stir the meat sauce up before spooning it out to get some of the orange tinted olive oil in each helping. Mix the meat and pasta in your plate/bowl and then get down to business!

Kali Orexi! (Bon Appetit),

Sam Sotiropoulos
Greek Gourmand™
http://www.greekgourmand.com
Greek Food Recipes and Reflections
Copyright © 2008, Sam Sotiropoulos. All Rights Reserved.

Note: Mizithra can also be spelled as Myzithra cheese in English.

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