Greek Pasta Bake with Ground Meat and Cheese: Pastitsio

Ingredients

• 500 g Penne or macaroni (Parboil al dente according to the package instructions)
• 1 Onion (Large, finely chopped)
• 2 große Zehen Garlic (Finely chopped)
• Olive oil (For frying and greasing the baking dish; amount as needed)
• Salt (To taste, for the pasta water, ground meat sauce, and cheese sauce)
• 400 g Ground meat (As desired, such as ground beef or a mixed ground meat)
• Red wine (1 splash, optional)
• 400 g Chopped tomatoes (1 can)
• Pepper (To taste)
• 2 TL Dried oregano
• 1 Prise Cinnamon
• 100 g Parmesan (Grated; add half to the sauce and use the rest for sprinkling)
• 100 g Feta (Crumble; add half to the sauce and use the rest for sprinkling)
• 50 g Butter
• 70 g Flour
• 1 l Milk (Pour slowly into the roux)
• Nutmeg (Grated, to taste)

Steps

1. 1

   Cook the penne or macaroni in plenty of salted water according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain them while they still have some bite; they should not be too soft, as they will continue cooking in the oven.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, peel the onion and garlic and finely chop both.

3. 3

   Heat some olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and aromatic. Season with salt.

4. 4

   Add the ground meat to the skillet and fry, breaking it up as it cooks, until no longer pink and lightly browned in places.

5. 5

   Deglaze the ground meat with a splash of red wine, if using. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer the mixture over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is flavorful and slightly thickened.

6. 6

   Season the ground meat and tomato sauce with salt, pepper, dried oregano, and a pinch of cinnamon.

7. 7

   Grate the Parmesan and crumble the feta. Divide each cheese approximately in half, reserving one portion for the sauce and the other for sprinkling later.

8. 8

   Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and heat the mixture briefly to form a smooth roux.

9. 9

   Slowly add the milk to the roux in batches, whisking constantly. Continue stirring until a smooth, lump-free sauce forms.

10. 10

    Stir half of the grated Parmesan and half of the crumbled feta into the cheese sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg.

11. 11

    Grease a sufficiently large baking dish with a little olive oil or butter. Spread half of the parboiled pasta evenly over the bottom.

12. 12

    Spread the ground meat and tomato sauce evenly over the first layer of pasta.

13. 13

    Add the remaining pasta on top of the meat sauce and distribute it as evenly as possible.

14. 14

    Pour the cheese sauce over the entire bake and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and feta on top.

15. 15

    Bake the casserole at 200 °C using conventional top and bottom heat for about 40 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Notes

The bake can be assembled with one or two layers of pasta. Only parboil the pasta, as it will continue cooking in the oven.

Nutrition per serving

• Main course
• Casserole
• Greek
• Pastitsio
• Oven-baked dish
• Ground meat
• Pasta
• Family-friendly