Pastitsio

Well, I meant to post this recipe back in May, but somehow the time got away from me.  Here it is, better late than never.  I hope you enjoy!

I had never heard of Pastitsio until seeing a recipe for it on a blog.  Apparently it's a common Greek dish.  It looked intriguing, so I decided to try to make it gluten-free, egg-free, and mostly dairy-free.  Once I also adjusted the spices to our liking, the whole family thought it was great.  (We needed to tone down the cinnamon quite a bit so that we tasted something other than cinnamon when we ate it.)  I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for pasta and meat sauce but want to try something different from the typical Italian varieties.  The version below is for an 8"x8"  Pyrex pan, but you could easily double the recipe and bake it in a 9"x13" pan.  Just be sure to use larger pots for cooking the pasta and meat sauce (instead of almost overflowing the meat sauce pan like I did).

Pastitsio
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste.  Get a can that contains just tomatoes and no citric acid.
• 1 1/2 cups (about 13 or 14 oz.) tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Burgundy wine
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) brown rice penne pasta
• 1/2 cup plain almond milk
• 1 cup chicken broth.  Use Imagine organic chicken broth or Kitchen Basics original chicken stock.
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan.  Buy a block of aged Parmesan, not pre-grated, which usually contains corn products to prevent clumping.  Use a zester or the small holes on a grater to grate the cheese.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place a large 12-inch pan over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Chop the onion and saute in the pan until softened.  While the onion is sauteing, place a 4-quart pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.

When the onion is softened, increase the heat to medium-high, add the ground beef, and cook until browned.  Drain off the excess fat.  Add the minced garlic, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, black pepper, and sea salt, and stir for one minute.  Add tomato paste, tomato puree, and wine; stir.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer covered.

When the pot of water has come to a boil, add the dry pasta and a teaspoon of sea salt to the water.  Stir and let boil for 6 minutes.  Then rinse the pasta in a colander with cold water.  Transfer the pasta back to the pot.  Stir 1/2 cup of the meat sauce into the pasta.  Cover the bottom of an 8"x8" Pyrex pan with 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Spread 2 level cups of pasta in the bottom of the pan.

To make the bechamel sauce, heat the almond milk and chicken broth in the microwave until they are very hot.  Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the flour to make a paste.  Then pour in the almond milk and chicken broth mixture, whisking constantly.  Whisk frequently until the sauce thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the nutmeg, black pepper, sea salt, and grated Parmesan. 

Now return to the Pyrex pan.  Pour the meat sauce over the pasta that is in the bottom of the pan.  Transfer the remaining 2 cups of pasta to the Pyrex pan and spread evening on top of the meat sauce.  Pour the bechamel sauce on top of the second layer of pasta.

Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes (or 30 minutes if doubling the recipe), until the center is hot.  Then remove the foil from the pan and turn on the broiler.  Broil until the top of the pastitsio is golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.