Pasta & RiceDifficulty: easy
Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta with Béchamel)
Greece's lasagna: tubular pasta, cinnamon-spiced meat sauce and a towering béchamel crown, baked until golden — the Sunday family centerpiece.
40
Prep Time
90
Cook Time
8
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
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1Cook the pasta 2 minutes under package time. Make the meat sauce: brown beef, add onion, garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon and bay; simmer 30 minutes until thick.
2Make a thick béchamel; off the heat beat in the yolks and half the cheese. Fold half into the pasta so it binds — this is what holds the slices.
3Layer: pasta, meat sauce, remaining béchamel on top, cheese over. Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes until burnished. Rest 20 minutes — cut too soon and it flows.
Chef's Tip
- Béchamel folded INTO the pasta is the pastitsio secret — the sauce both flavors and glues the base into slices.
More tips ↓Show less ↑
- Cinnamon makes it Greek; nutmeg stays in the béchamel. The two spices live in different layers, on purpose.
- Undercooking the pasta compensates for its second cooking in the oven — perfectly boiled pasta goes mushy baked.
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