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Grecian: Pastitsio

Source of Recipe

Marcie Karvellis


List of Ingredients

Meat sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 pounds lean ground meat
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup red wine
1 cinnamon stick

Pasta:
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound penne pasta
8 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten

Cream sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 eggs
1/2 pound grated Kefalotiri* or Romano cheese, divided




Recipe

For the meat sauce, melt butter in a 10- to 12-inch skillet. Saute onion until lightly browned. Add meat and cook until brown, crumbling with a fork. Add remaining meat sauce ingredients to skillet; mix well. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick; let mixture cool.

To prepare pasta, place water and salt in large pot. Bring to a boil. Add the penne and cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and place pasta in a large bowl. Add butter, milk and eggs. Gently toss to coat; set aside.

To prepare cream sauce, melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.

Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring until thickened.

Lower heat; add salt and peper. Remove from heat. Beat 6 eggs until light and fluffy. Slowly add hot cream sauce to eggs; stir thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread 1/2 of the penne mixture over bottom of pan. Cover evenly with meat sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over meat sauce. Add remaining penne mixture, spreading evenly. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the cheese over top. Pour cream sauce evenly over entire casserole. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake until sauce sets, approximately 45 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting into squares.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.