dear fellow crumbsnatchers,
there are just some recipes that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. for me, it's a hearty soup or casserole that does the trick. i can always count on my yia-yia for inspiration in the kitchen. my yia-yia was a devout and active member of the greek orthodox church. growing up in texas, we'd only hear stories about all the foods my yia-yia would help make for the annual greek bazaar. the loukoumathes (honey balls) were legendary, or at least they were to my cousin. dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves), spanikopita (spinach pie), baklava, koulourakia and finikia were all staples on the bazaar menu but pastitsio, now that's comfort on a plate. i did some research and found that her church has one of the oldest greek bazaars in the country and everything, i mean everything, is homemade. in 2018, they prepared 12,000 pieces of pastitsio and 10,300 pieces of baklava. it's no wonder that all my yia-yia's greek recipes are designed to feed the masses.
so what exactly is pastitsio? it's when lasagna meets macaroni-and-cheese and makes a greek baby. often referred to as greek lasagna, it's traditionally made with ground lamb, ziti and kasseri cheese. i loved my yia-yia's pastitsio. it's traditional, it's authentic, it's warm and cozy. it also helps us meal prep for the week. we have found intentionally making leftovers to portion out for the week saves us a lot more time, energy and money than preparing and cooking extra meals. for someone who doesn't like eating leftovers, this casserole gets better as the week goes on and that's a win in my book!
pastitsio recipe
crumb confession: my favorite pastitsio recipe is not my yia-yia's recipe. there i said it. don't get me wrong, i love her recipe but the barefoot contessa's recipe reigns supreme. with a few of our adjustments, one bite of ina's version is like that moment when anton ego takes a bite of ratatouille and flashes back to his childhood memories. one bite of our pastitsio takes me back to summers with my grandparents. it's still hard to believe she's been gone for 20 years.
i can't take all the credit for why this is my favorite pastitsio recipe. it has to do a lot with the manfriend. when he found out we would need to make a tomato meat sauce, he suggested we cook it on our kamado joe smoker in a cast iron deep skillet over lump charcoal and wood chunks. you have to watch him in the kitchen. he never follows a recipe and will sneak in extra ingredients. so we compromise. i prepare the ingredients via mise en place and he does his magic on the smoker. this is my kitchen version of the trust fall with the manfriend.
don't worry, the recipe instructions below use the stove and a dutch oven. just know we make our sauce on the smoker and it's totally worth it. other recipe modifications were more garlic and ground black pepper, less cinnamon, medium shells and parmesan cheese. i love kasseri cheese but it's hard to find and expensive. we always have a wedge of parmesan cheese in our fridge, so although not authentic, it's still delicious and easier on the budget.
cuisine: greek
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 2 hours
serves: 8-10
ingredients
meat sauce:
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 cup dry red wine (e.g. merlot, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz or zinfandel)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh thyme
pinch of cayenne pepper
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
bechamel:
1 1/2 cups fairlife whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
4 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or kasseri cheese
2 extra-large eggs
5.3 oz cup plain greek yogurt (about 2/3 cup)
16 oz medium shells pasta
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or kasseri cheese
directions
in a dutch oven with lid, heat olive oil on medium-high heat for meat sauce. add onion and stir until translucent. add beef and lamb until browned and crumbly. drain excess fat and add wine. add remaining meat sauce ingredients, reduce heat to medium-low and cover. simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
preheat oven to 350F. spray large baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
in a medium saucepan, melt butter on medium-high heat for bechamel. add flour to create a roux and keep stirring with wire whisk. when the flour smells nutty and is caramel in color, add milk and cream. keep whisking until smooth and thick. add nutmeg, salt and pepper. stir in 3/4 cup grated cheese until smooth. turn off heat and set aside.
in a small bowl, mix eggs and yogurt. set aside.
fill large pot with water and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. cook pasta according to package directions. drain and pour into baking dish.
whisk egg mixture into bechamel. be careful not to curdle the eggs. add 1/2 cup of meat sauce to bechamel and set aside.
add remaining meat sauce to pasta in baking dish and mix well.
using a rubber spatula, evenly spread bechamel on top of pasta mixture. sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
bake uncovered for 1 hour until golden brown. let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
love and crumbs,
christina & gypsie
p.s. did you make this recipe? be sure to drop us a crumb on instagram at @crumbsforgypsie and hashtag it #crumbsforgypsie.
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