Pastitio and Andronikos All the flavours of the world can be found in our WUR community. Food Technology student Andronikos Ballis takes us to Greece to share his favourite comfort food.
‘Pastitsio is a traditional Greek dish. Every family has a slightly different recipe, resulting in hilarious battles between grandmothers, fighting over who prepares it the best. Vegetarians can replace the meat with soya mince and mushrooms.’
Ingredients
- For the mince: 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp granulated sugar; 2 onions and 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; fresh thyme; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 750g minced beef; 100 ml red wine; 400g tinned tomatoes; 1 tsp cinnamon; 2 beef stock cubes; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 bunch parsley;
- For the béchamel sauce: 100g butter; 100g flour; 1 l milk; salt; pepper; 1/2 tsp nutmeg; 100g Gruyère cheese, grated; 3 egg yolks;
- For the pasta: 300g bucatini pasta; 2 eggs; 200g feta cheese; 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped; 30 ml olive oil; finely chopped thyme
Preparation
- For the mince: in 2 tbsp olive oil, fry the onions, half the sugar, some thyme, the garlic and the tomato paste. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the minced beef and the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, cinnamon, the rest of the sugar, stock cubes and bay leaves; turn down the heat and let it simmer for 10-20 minutes.
- For the béchamel sauce: heat the butter and as soon as it melts, add flour and beat with a hand whisk and cook for a few minutes. Now add the milk in small batches, whisking continuously until it is nice and creamy. When ready, remove from the heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg and most of the grated Gruyère. Stir the egg yolks in last.
- For the pasta: precook the pasta and spread it in a casserole dish. Add 2 eggs, lightly beaten, with the thyme, parsley and crumbled feta cheese.
- To assemble: preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix some of the béchamel sauce into the mince and spread the mince over the pasta. Top with the rest of the béchamel and sprinkle with grated Gruyère. Bake for 40 minutes or until the béchamel turns golden brown.
