Pastitsio Kima: Baked Macaroni

  • Yield: 24 servings
  • Total: 1 hr 25 min
  • Prep: 20 min
  • Cook: 1 hr 5 min
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Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 cup red wine

3/4 cup tomato puree

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground, plus more, for seasoning

1 1/2 pound uncut macaroni

2 tablespoons butter, plus 1/2 pound

3 eggs, separated

2 1/2 cups kefalotyri or kasseri, grated

2 quarts milk

1/2 pound flour

Nutmeg

Directions

  1. Brown beef in a pan. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce to 2 tablespoons. In a small bowl, mix together tomato puree and crushed tomatoes to make a sauce. Add to the onions and garlic, and then add the water. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer for 10 minutes. Cook macaroni in salted water: drain. Return to pan. Add butter, egg whites and 1/2 cup of cheese, mix well. Heat up milk on medium high until it comes to a simmer. In a separate pan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until well blended. Whisk in warm milk. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until fairly thick. Season with salt and nutmeg, to taste. Temper in the egg yolks. Add 1 cup of cheese. In a buttered 13 by 9-inch baking dish, layer macaroni mixture and meat sauce, cover with white sauce and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese on top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven to rack and let stand for 15 minutes. Cut into squares.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Popham17

This recipe is very poorly written. I was able to salvage some components and make a final dish that didn't include so much butter and white sauce but it was a very frustrating experience.<br />My aunt thought it was delicious so I'll give it 2 stars. But for recipe quality, it's zero stars.

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