Pastitsio

Greek Dinner Recipes

1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked Meat Sauce 1 Tbsp. butter 1/2 c. onion, chopped finely 1 lb. ground beef 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 1 28oz. can tomato puree 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 bay leaf White Sauce 2 Tbsp. butter 1/4 c. flour 2 c. milk 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. white pepper 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 2 eggs 1/2 c. grated cheese

This Greek dish is like lasagna built with elbows instead of great big noodles. Begin by cooking the elbows according to package directions. When cooked, drain and set aside. In a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. butter over low medium heat. Add onions and sauté until onions soften and are translucent. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Stir in tomato puree and add bay leaf. Simmer while you make the white sauce. In another skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Stir in 1/4 c. flour. Gradually add milk. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Let cook until very thick. When quite thick, remove from heat and whisk in 2 eggs. Prepare the pan. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lay half the elbows in the baking dish. Top with half the meat sauce. Then add a layer of elbow macaroni. Spread remaining meat sauce on top of the macaroni. Top with the white sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese Bake at 350°F for 45 min. - 1 hour.

Submitted by Gretchen Grant
Contributed on: Friday October 5th, 2007 and modified on Thursday October 11th, 2007