Pastitsio

What do you do in the middle of the night when you cannot sleep? I watch Food TV--but only certain cooks. Some are too loud or upbeat, and some I cannot understand (think British cooks) without turning the TV up too loud for John. But Ina Garten is an insomniac's dream come true.


Now understand me, she is not boring and I don't mean to imply that. I almost always finish the episode before sleeping, but she is just calm and soothing--and interesting enough to distract me from my insomnia. If you are prone to insomnia, especially the kind born of worrying about dumb stuff, then you know what I mean. It also helps that for the most part I am interested in what she does, but I frequently do not want to cook it myself, just because we clearly have very different tastes (she focuses on Mediterranean and especially French cooking, for those who have never seen The Barefoot Contessa).


The biggest exception to the previous comment is when she makes Greek food (well that and when she bakes). The other night (early morning) I watched her make pastitsio, and I knew instantly that I was making it ASAP. Who cares that it was almost 80 F outside, who cares that the meal screamed fall/winter comfort food and we're well into spring, I wanted some of that casserole.

Now as it turns out the day I made it, it hit almost 90 F here, and I don't really recommend that in retrospect. But I don't regret making it either because it was "DELICIOSO!!!!!!" as Alex exclaimed.


A note about some of my changes: lamb is obviously more traditional, and perhaps I've made it not pastitsio by not using it, but I just bought a quarter of a cow, and I am determined to only use meat already in my freezer. So I used some ground turkey to lighten the beef. I also had more of that broccoflower, and I decided to add it and zucchini, with less pasta, to make it more of a complete meal (I did also serve it with a salad).

Pastitsio
Closely adapted from Ina Garten

Tomato Meat Sauce:
3 T good extra virgin olive oil, preferably Greek
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey (lamb is traditional, but I did not have any)
1/2 cup dry red wine6 cloves garlic, minced
4 t cinnamon
2 t dried oregano
2 t fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or sub paprika)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree (I could not find and so used Muir Glen diced tomatoes)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Bechamel:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan or Kasseri cheese (I used Parm)
2 extra-large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup Greek yogurt (I used whole fat)
8 oz dried pasta of choice, she uses shells, I used penne, cooked al dente
1 small-medium head of cauliflower or broccoflower, cut into small florets and blanched

Begin with the meat sauce: heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes. Add the beef and turkey with another pinch of salt, and saute over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until it's no longer pink, crumbling it with the back of wooden spoon.

Drain off any excess liquid, and add the zucchini and the garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and cayenne/paprika, and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes. Let the wine evaporate, then add the tomatoes, another pinch (or more) of salt to taste, and 1 teaspoon pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Next make the bechamel: Mix the milk and cream. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle the milk and cream mixture into the butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and thick.

Add the nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the tomato and meat sauce, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the eggs and yogurt and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Don't over-cook because the pasta will later be baked. Drain and set aside. Do the same for the cauliflower.

Add the pasta and cauliflower to the meat and tomato sauce, and pour the mixture into a 9X13 casserole dish. Spread the bechamel evenly to cover the pasta and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly. Set aside for 10 minutes and serve hot. As with all casseroles, it will firm up considerably the next day and be soft and a little runny the first day. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese for sprinkling, as well as red pepper flakes.