Pastitsio is a layered Greek pasta dish, in many ways similar to it’s rather delicious Italian cousin, lasagne. It works well with either minced beef or lamb, though my family unanimously prefers the beef version. If you’re unable to find the Greek Kefalotyri cheese, feel free to substitute with Parmesan. Hope you enjoy this gently-spiced pasta dish as much as we do!
Beef Pastitsio | Gather and Graze
Ingredients
For the Meat Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Brown Onion (finely diced)
- 700g (1½lb) Minced Beef
- 2 tsp Dried Mint
- 1 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 400g (1½ Cups) Tomato Passata/Purée
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
For the Pasta:
- 400g Bucatini or Ziti (or other tubular pasta, like Penne)
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 Free-Range Egg Whites
- 40g (½ Cup) Grated Kefalotyri Cheese
For the Cheese Béchamel:
- 60g (4 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter
- 60g (7½ Tbsp) Plain Flour
- 600ml (1⅓ Cup) Full-Cream Milk (warmed… I use the microwave)
- Good Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
- 2 Free-Range Egg Yolks
- 40g (½ Cup) Grated Kefalotyri Cheese
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
For the Topping:
- 80g (1 Cup) Grated Kefalotyri Cheese
Instructions
To prepare the Meat Sauce:
In a large saucepan, over low-medium heat, sauté the diced onion in the olive oil, until translucent and softened. Add the minced beef and cook until browned. Now add the mint, spices, tomato paste, tomato passata and sugar. Season with some freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. Check the consistency and if need be, remove the lid to allow some of the liquid to evaporate… or add a little water if too dry.
At this stage, pre-heat the oven to 180°C. With a little olive oil, grease a deep-sided, medium sized baking dish (whatever you would use if making lasagne).
To prepare the Pasta (while the meat sauce is simmering):
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and season with salt. Cook the pasta until it’s almost al dente (just a minute or so less). Drain and put back in the pot while you stir through the butter, then the egg whites and cheese.
To prepare the Cheese Béchamel (while the pasta is cooking):
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir to combine. Continue stirring over the heat for a couple of minutes, to remove the raw flour taste. Add in the warmed milk and continue stirring until thickened. Stir in the nutmeg, egg yolks, cheese and seasonings. Be sure to stir the yolks in slowly, but vigorously, so that they combine smoothly with the rest of the sauce.
To layer the Pastitsio:
First of all, spread out half of the pasta across the bottom of the greased dish. Layer the meat sauce across the top, then the rest of the pasta on top of the meat. Finish with the béchamel sauce over the top of the pasta and an even sprinkling of the remaining cheese.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes (until the cheese is golden brown on top).
Serve hot, with a well-dressed garden salad on the side. A glass of red won’t go astray either!
Gather & Graze 
A lovely winters dish there, I think that this weekends cooling weather is heralding a need for such hearty fare.
Absolutely! The overnight forecast tonight here in Canberra is supposed to get to 0°C! Must say, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to autumn just yet… 😔
We enjoy pastitsio much more than lasagne, haven’t made it for a while though. I have a Maltese friend who makes this in a pie. Carb overload
I’m going to have to google ‘Pastitsio Pie’ now to have a look. Pasta encased in pastry is rather hard to contemplate… interesting though!
Lovely recipe 🙂
Thank you very much! 🙂
Have never made this and should fix that. Looks like you had run out of tubular pasta 😉 Interesting use of egg whites.
Ahh, the bucatini pasta is very much like spaghetti, but with a thin tube running through the middle. The last photo of the post probably shows this best (with the cross-section)… Ziti is similar though larger in size, but other short pasta like penne would work fine as well. The egg whites (and the cheese) help to bind the pasta, so that the pasta holds it’s shape on serving. Hope you do find time to give this a go… we all really enjoyed it. 🙂
We love this dish too I’ve been making it for years but then I forget about it and suddenly remember what a great hearty meal it is. I like it more than lasagne:).
It is indeed a hearty meal Sherry and one that I’ll be making quite regularly now that I’ve found it! 🙂
Methinks I make this more oft than I prepare lasagne ! Love your spicing and shall try the dish and raise a glass to a wondrous just departed friend and companion across the Pond! Sugar: wouldn’t Max have loved to filch that . . . .
That’s really interesting to hear that you make this more often than lasagne Eha. Can I ask… what spices do you usually use? I’ve heard that ground cloves is often used as well.
I’ve been thinking of dear Max and John today too – such sad news.
I love food with ‘flavour’ as well as trying to cut down on excess fats and have more-or-less followed Rick Stein’s version for quite awhile: cinnamon, bay, cloves and oregano . . . must try the dish with mint and allspice: thanks!!
That sounds wonderful as well Eha! Thanks for sharing your usual flavour profile for this dish. 🙂
Wow never heard of this before but it looks amazing (:
Thanks so very much Nicolas! 🙂
Wonderful dish… Why have I never made it?! Time to remedy that…
Can’t believe it took me so long to make this one too Tanya! It really does make for a nice change occasionally from lasagne and other pasta dishes. 🙂