Spinach Pastitsio Recipes

Steps:

• For the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the beef and lamb, 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, add the wine, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and cayenne, and continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the bechamel, heat the milk and cream together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until simmering. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Pour the warm 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, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. 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.
• Add the pasta to the meat and tomato sauce, and pour the mixture into a baking 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.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss with butter; add grated Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles; drain. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in tomato sauce, salt and cinnamon; heat through. Spoon over pasta. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese., In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened., In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Pour over beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese., Bake, covered, 20 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 30-40 minutes longer or until golden brown.,

Steps:

• MEAT SAUCE:
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and when hot, add onions and sprinkle on ground sea salt; sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add ground lamb and ground beef; cook until browned, breaking into small pieces. Halfway through cooking, season with freshly ground black pepper before adding pressed garlic; stir well.
• When the meat is almost done; add tomato paste. Stir until well combined and finish cooking the meat.
• Add dry red wine, stir, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook until the liquid is evaporated including the fat, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add fire roasted crushed tomatoes, granulated sugar, thyme leaves, oregano, cinnamon, ground cloves, freshly ground black pepper and ground sea salt. Stir to blend and add bay leaf.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. If desired, add cayenne pepper to the mixture.
• When time is up and the sauce is thick, discard the bay leaf and remove from the heat and let it cool off while making the béchamel sauce.
• BÉCHAMEL SAUCE:
• In a 4-quart pot over medium heat, add butter and when melted, add flour; whisk the roux for 5 minutes.
• Pour in the warm milk while whisking continuously until all incorporated and the sauce is smooth with no lumps. Add freshly grated nutmeg, ground sea salt and white pepper; whisk until well blended.
• Temper the egg yolks by scooping up some béchamel and slowly adding it to them, whisking constantly. After a few ladles, add warmed yolks to the pot and whisk them into the mixture.
• Add a ¼ cup at a time of Kefalotyri cheese and whisk until well incorporated between each addition. Keep the sauce warm while looking after the pasta.
• PASTA:
• In a large pot, boil salted water before adding the noodles. Cook 3 minutes LESS than the package directions.
• When time is up, drain very well before returning the pasta back to the pot. Add egg whites and cheese; stir gently to coat.
• ASSEMBLY:
• Preheat oven to 350ºF/177ºC
• Place pasta mixture in a large 9x13x3-inch deep baking dish, lightly greased. Arrange the noodles lengthwise to get them lined up, using a pasta fork or clean hands.
• Top the noodles with the meat sauce and evenly spread it out, pressing it down gently and leveling it out. Sprinkle on 1 cup of cheese before pouring in béchamel sauce; spread it out evenly and smoothing out the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle on 1 ½ cups of cheese to evenly cover the entire surface.
• Place the baking dish on a large baking sheet just in case it overflows and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top starts getting a little brown.
• When time is up, put the broiler on "low" and continue to bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until nice and brown.
• Carefully remove from the heat, sprinkle on some fresh chopped parsley and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving so it stays together for a nice presentation.
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Steps:

• Toss pasta with 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese; set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground round, onion, and garlic; stirring to crumble meat; cook until meat is no longer pink; drain.
• Stir in tomato sauce, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, cinnamon, and pepper.
• In a heavy saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over low heat.
• Whisk in flour.
• Cook and whisk constantly for 1 minute.
• Whisk in milk; cook and whisk constantly over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
• Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; remove from heat.
• In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until thick and pale.
• Whisk about 1/4 milk mixture into eggs; add to remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly.
• To assemble: spoon pasta mixture into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Spoon beef mixture over pasta.
• Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.
• Top with cream sauce.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until golden.

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef, and cook until crumbly and no longer pink. Pour in the water and tomato paste. Season with salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon; cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, adjust salt to taste, then refrigerate until cold. Once cold, remove any congealed fat, and thoroughly mix with 2 beaten eggs, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, and rinse under cold water to cool. Mix the macaroni in 2 beaten eggs until well coated.
• Evenly spread half of the macaroni mixture into a 11x14x2 inch baking pan, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan cheese, and drizzle with 1/2 cup of melted butter. Spread the meat mixture overtop, then finish with the remaining macaroni. Sprinkle the macaroni with another 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and drizzle with 1/2 cup of melted butter.
• Whisk together 4 beaten eggs with the half-and-half, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, flour, and salt; whisk until well blended. Pour the cream mixture evenly over top of the pastitsio, and sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Cover the pan with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake until the top has turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Cook beef, onion, and carrot in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return meat mixture to pan. Add tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and next 4 ingredients;bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, 28 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.
• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
• Combine milk and next 3 ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat to 180°F or until tiny bubbles form around edge(DO NOT BOIL). Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Set milk mixture aside.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour, stirring well with a whisk. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk mixture, stirring well with a whisk;cook over medium heat until thick (about 10 minutes). Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Remove form heat; stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Reserve 1 1/2 cups sauce.
• Combine pasta and remaining cheese sauce. Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with a cooking spray. Spoon meat mixture over pasta. Top with remaining pasta mixture. Pour reserved cheese sauce evenly over pasta layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.
• Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.