Photo: Green Pastitsio Recipe
Notes
Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish traditionally made with ground lamb or beef, often with bits of spiced or cured meat mixed in, this is a healthy Greek alternative to Lasagne Bolognese. Here, I use an equally traditional phyllo tart filling and use it to lighten up the end result, though it remains rich yet not heavy - think a well-made spinach or vegetable lasagna
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 pound ziti or long, hollow pasta tubes (recommended: Buon Italia or Greek macaroni #2*)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium bundles chard, stemmed and chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh dill leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 brick Greek feta in water, drained, about 1 cup crumbled feta
- 1 cup freshly shredded or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- *Available online or at specialty markets
If you're serving this baked pasta on the night you prepare it, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the water to a boil for pasta, salt the water and undercook the pasta by about 2 minutes.
While the water comes to a boil, heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add the garlic and onions, soften a few minutes then stir in chard to wilt. Then add the scallions, dill, mint, parsley, and black pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer and keep greens warm.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepot over medium to medium-high heat. As soon as the butter melts, add the flour and stir 1 minute. Whisk in milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.
Drain the pasta and place back in hot pot, stir together with greens and feta to combine, taste to adjust seasoning. Place the pasta in a casserole dish and top with bechamel sauce and Parm cheese, place in oven and bake until bubbly and brown, 20 minutes or, cool and cover then store. To reheat, place in 375 degrees F oven and bake 45 to 60 minutes until brown.
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By fbstuart
Wake Forest, NC
on March 04, 2013
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We loved this recipe. I also added 1lb of lean ground beef and doubled the sauce. However, I would not double the milk because it didn't really evaporate and was still runny after baking. It didn't matter though because it tastes delicious. I used mustard greens because that was what I could find and the bitterness was a nice touch. My only gripe is that this took me about an hour and a half to make. I wouldn't call it a quick and easy meal.
By Lunch Meat
on January 15, 2013
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This was delicious, and I'm so excited that it's vegetarian because it's a great dish to serve company, as well as a good make-ahead for lunches. My only problem with the recipe is that it says 4-6 servings, so I did a double recipe because my husband and I planned to eat it for a week. The double recipe's at least 16 good-sized servings. I think 6-8 would be more accurate and helpful for planning purposes.
By TraciInLA
Los Angeles, CA
on October 23, 2011
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I made this almost exactly as written -- only substituting whole wheat rotini for the pasta, because that's what I had on hand. Rachael's directions are to have 3 pots going at once, and my kitchen multitasking skills just aren't that good, so I did each step separately, and the entire process -- cleaning and chopping all the chard and herbs, cooking 3 separate things, then the final baking -- took about 3 hours. The end result was good, and our whole family (including 2 teenagers enjoyed it, but I just don't think it was quite worth that much time and all those pots to wash.
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