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Pastitsio
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5 from 1 vote

Pastitsio

Pastitsio is the ultimate comfort food! Cheesy pasta comes together perfectly with the ground beef and creamy white sauce layer.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

  • 1 tsp salted butter
  • 1.5 lbs ground beef
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup red wine (or cranberry juice)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

White sauce

  • 1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 3 cups milk of choice
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 large egg

Macaroni layer

  • 4 cups dry macaroni
  • 16 cups boiling water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 Tbsp butter (or margarine)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Topping

  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Set aside.
  • For the Meat Sauce : In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the onion and ground beef, and cook until the ground beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat and return to heat. Add in the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, wine, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix until combined. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
  • For the White Sauce : Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the flour, salt and pepper. Stir in the milk until it boils and thickens. Stir in the cheese and mustard. Add in the chicken broth. In a small bowl, stir some white sauce into the egg then stir all the egg into the sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • For the Macaroni Layer : In a medium saucepan, boil the macaroni in the water and salt until cooked. Drain. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir the mixture briskly into the macaroni.
  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  • Assemble in layers in the prepared pan in the following order: two thirds macaroni, meat sauce, one third macaroni and white sauce. Top with the 1/2 cup Parmesan.
  • Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until top in well browned.