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Pastitsio is a baked Greek meat and pasta casserole made with béchamel sauce.  This recipe was adapted from one in Modern Greek by Andy Harris.  His recipe is made with 2 homemade sauces – a meat sauce and béchamel sauce.   To save time making the dish, I tried it with jarred sauces.  Based on how good it turned out, I imagine it is amazing with homemade sauces.

Note:  The picture in Modern Greek did not have as much tomato sauce (his recipe for meat sauce had one 15 ounce can of chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon tomato paste).  The next time I make it, I am going to decrease the marina sauce.

Inspired by Middlesex

Prep:  25 minutes      Cook Time:  20 minutes for pasta and meat, 40 minutes in the oven     Serves:  12

Ingredients

Pasta

•  1 pound ziti (I used penne instead)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons grated kefalotiri or parmesan cheese (I used parmesan)
• 1 cup béchamel sauce

Pie

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 jar of chunky marinara (45 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 cups béchamel sauce
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons grated kefalotiri or parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Pasta:  Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the ziti and simmer for 10 minutes until almost soft.  Drain in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.  Allow to cool, then add the beaten eggs, cheese and béchamel sauce and toss until well coated.
2. Meat sauce:  In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown the ground beef in olive oil.  Add the marinara sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. To assemble to pie:  Preheat the oven to 350°F.   Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking dish with melted butter.
4. Spread 1/3 of the pasta evenly in the dish and cover with half the meat sauce.  Add another 1/3 of the pasta and cover with the remaining meat sauce.
5. Spread the remaining pasta over the top and spoon on the béchamel sauce, smoothing it over the top.  Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs and cheese.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For a prettier presentation when serving this dish, I very carefully slid it into a pasta serving bowl.  I added a few more sprinkles of breadcrumbs and parmesan to the top before serving.