Usually, we visit Corfu, Greece every August, my father-in-law’s native island. This summer, we are going to the Netherlands instead for a wedding so we will miss the blue seas, hot sun and the food…. oh the food!
Just this week I started feeling sad and forlorn about all the things I would not eat this summer. Instead of wallowing in self pity, I decided to start making some of my favorite dishes. I turned to my trusty, dog-eared, Greek cooking handbook. This little book is so dated it is hilarious but has all you need inside to prepare the best Greek feasts. In Corfu, the bookstore carries it in about 15 languages. I often like to image others in Japan or Norway paging through their little blue manual recreating Greek vacation flavors.
Pasticcio is similar to lasagna with less cheese, a thick layer of bechamel sauce on top and special long, hollow-shaped noodles. Do the shape of the noodles really matter? YES! (But, that is a long debate for another blog discussion.) The pasticcio noodels are basically uncut macaroni. You can perhaps find them at a local ethnic grocer. If not, look for bucatini or as a last resort, use regular macaroni. Although, the idea of someone making this with regular macaroni so upsets me that I am almost willing to mail someone a package of noodles if you are seriously considering this recipe and have made every attempt to find the noodles and failed.
The recipe is a bit time consuming as you have to boil noodles, prepare the meat sauce and the bechamel before assembling and baking. But, when you are finished, you will have a huge pan of deliciousness that just tastes betters as the days go on. Pasticcio is leftover heaven.
For an even more authentic experience, serve Pasticcio with Greek Salad and Retsina wine. Follow it with some baklava or Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts.
Like many Greek dishes I have learned to prepare, I have learned to adjust a little of this and a little of that over time to get it just right. Throughout the recipe, I have added my own tips. But, be sure you are tasting regularly and adjusting as needed along the way.
Pasticcio
Meat Sauce:
1 T butter
2 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon dried greek oregano
and/or fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 egg whites
Bechamel Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups hot milk
salt and pepper
nutmeg
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs and 2 egg yolks
Noodles:
1 lb. pasticcio (macaroni) noodles
1 T salt
2 T butter
1 cup grated cheese
For the Meat Sauce:
Heat butter in pan and saute the onions, garlic and meat until browned. Add remaining ingredients except egg whites. Be generous with the spices and taste regularly. Be sure there is enough salt to bring out the flavor. I always add quite a bit more than the recipe calls for. Let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn off and stir until slightly cooled. Stir in egg whites. (Save the yolks for the bechamel.) You do not want the sauce so hot that it cookes the egg whites immediately. They should be incorporated.
For the Bechamel:
Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute. Add the milk all at once and whisk until sauce is thickened and smooth. I usually heat the milk in another pan or in the microwave before adding. That and a quality, even heating sauce pan help make the best sauce. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. I add quite a healthy dose of each, probably at least 1/2-1 teaspoon. Remove from heat and stir in eggs and cheese. A sharper white cheese works well like Parmesan or Asagio. I do not think Mozzarella has enough flavor.
For the noodles:
Bring water to a boil with salt. Cook noodles until tender but slightly firm. Drain very well and return to pan. Stir in butter.
Asssembly:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large, deep pan (lasagna pan works well). You can see by the amount of ingredients you have, this makes a large dish and serves at least 8 people.
Put half the noodles in the pan and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. Top the noodles with the meat sauce. Place the rest of the noodles on the meat sauce. Pour the bechamel over the top. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Some of the noodles will be sticking through the top which is good because they get brown and crunchy in the oven. Bake for approximatley 1 hour or until top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
The “little blue book” is called The Best Book of Greek Cookery, ISBN 960 226 119 6
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August 13th, 2007 at 2:31 am
Looks fantastic! And I’m sure you’ll have a great time in the Netherlands instead too, plus generally there are a quite a few Greek restaurants around in case you miss the food :-)
August 14th, 2007 at 12:58 am
Oh, perfect! I have some bucatini I want to use up and was dreading wasting it on jarred tomato sauce. I’m going to get right on this.
August 14th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Wow, this looks heavenly. It’s going to be a little cooler this week here where I live, so if I can find the noodles, I’ll be in business.
August 27th, 2007 at 8:20 am
[...] I think our grocery bill is going to take a nose-dive, not that I mind. With the 2nd job I won’t be home as often to cook and Mr. H would spontaneously combust if he had to prepare a real meal for himself. An added bonus- I think it’ll help get me back on track with Weight Watchers because I’m not home to graze the cupboards as much. Monday: Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers Tuesday: Pasticcio from Whipped. Wednesday: Chicken Noodle soup – Is that a weird thing to have in late August? It’s such a winter food but it’s easy and makes a lot at least. Thursday: I work from 8am-10pm so Mr. H is on his own. He could have left over soup but I’m sure he’ll have PopTarts or something equally disgusting. Friday: Leftover soup; I’ll also be making a bunch of taco meat for Mr. H to survive on over the weekend Sat & Sun: Tacos for Mr. H since I’ll be working all weekend. As always, don’t forget to go to Organizing Junkie to see what others are eating. [...]
September 10th, 2007 at 8:49 am
A friend of a friend made this for them, they passed me a slice knowing how much I like Greek food.
To say I was knocked out would be an understatement, I think I actually died and went to heaven for a moment. I will now bew attempting this some time this week.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
[...] Notes for Pasticcio: [...]
June 19th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
This recipe Kick’s A*s. I cooked it tonight for the first time and my family loved it. I only played slightly with the amounts to adjust for individual taste. It took almost three hours with prep and baking. But i would guess now that know the process it could be done in 1.5 to 2 hours.
Thank You for this!!!!! You are some kind of hero!!!
Sincerely Jason Speer
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
One more comment from about how great this recipe is. I gave some to a friend, he said it was like lasagna on “Steriods”.
Thanks again.
Jason Speer
ps i wolud love any other recipes you have if you are willing to share. I dont have any recipes per say but can recommend some spices for certain dishes. Thanks again
September 1st, 2008 at 10:19 am
Thanks for the recipe! My husband and I met in Greece and it has always been one of my (and now our) favourite places :D Im Norwegian and he is Canadian. We live in Norway… so imagine away that we are cooking Greek recipes here :D
Pasticcio has always been my favorite Greek dish
Heidi :D
September 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am
[...] If I have house guests, I often make different kinds of quesadillas. I also like to treat dinner guests to Greek food since many people are not as familiar with it nor eat it often. For dinner parties, I usually try to make a delicious, pretty layer cake that can sit on its cake plate throne, beckoning us towards dessert. [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
You mention grated cheese in the recipe. What cheese do you suggest??
I look forward to cooking this. It is one of my favorite dishes and the only Greek Restaurant in my city closed.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
After further reading the instructions I see what cheese you suggest. Thanks anyway.
May 26th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
[...] Pasticcio Recipe Whipped Posted by root 22 hours ago (http://whippedtheblog.com) I turned to my trusty dog eared greek cooking handbook this little book is so dated it is one more comment from about how great this recipe is i gave some to a friend website whipped is proudly powered by wordpress Discuss | Bury | News | pasticcio recipe whipped [...]
June 12th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Thanks for the great post. As a customer, I have witnessed today there are very few hotels who provides first class customer service with individual attention. Undoubtedly, Corfu hotel in Greece is one of them. I am very pleased with the excellent service.
July 16th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Thanks for the great post. Also http://www.delfinoblu.gr is your easy guide to the best holiday in Corfu Island providing hotels, studios and Corfu apartments, and more.
—————-
Corfu Hotel
August 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I am very impressed with your post!!! Pelion hotel works all year round and is the perfect destination for both summer and winter holidays. As Pelion is a large area, you will have to pay attention when looking for a Pelion hotel. The only thing for sure is that your holidays will be wonderful.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I made this recipe last night – it is delicious – thanks for posting it. The bechamel sause is decadent and wonderful. Thanks again!
September 5th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
My greek mother in law makes this all the time when we go to her house for dinner, and as I have 5 children who love it I wanted to make it for them at home. However, she does not make it with bechamel sauce she just uses cream, but found your recipe and we all think it is so much better than YaYa’s!! Even my husband loves it and of course he rarely thinks anyone can out do his mothers cooking being a good greek boy!!! Now I make it for them every Sunday, and they can’t get enough!! It is great and we have some left over for Monday night as well, as I make up a huge batch, filling a very large baking pan!!! Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe…..
September 5th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
One more thing, I cannot find those noodles anywhere in Australia so I use Penne which does the job nicely!!!
October 1st, 2009 at 10:12 am
ok, I need to know what type of white wine do you use for this recipe?? My email is heavenlyintentions@msn.com if anyone is up to suggestions. I’m praying that I can find the pasticcio noodles at one of the Middle Eastern ethnic stores in my area or even if my Polish market might have them. Most of the Chaldeans I know travled to Greece or Poland before coming to the U.S. so much of the food I eat when I’m with them has a little Greek twist & they do make many Greek dishes.
November 14th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
How many days can you make the Greek dish Pasticio before you are going to sereve it?
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:34 am
Locals surely know better than any travel guide and the staff of your Pelion hotel will have no problem to help you.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
A few notes to a few bloggers’questions. You can use any “hard” cheese such as pecorino romano, Greek kefalograviere…I prefer these salty ones rather mild Parmigiano. Parmigiano is a bit mild/sweet for this dish. This dish can be made and layered a day before but the Bechamel should NEVER be made in advance and refrigerated. You will not like the texture of your Bechamel once refrigerated and cooked….lumpy and dry. Make your Bechamel sauce a few hours before guests arrive, bake your dish for about an hour and let the casserole rest at room temp until ready to serve (about 2 hours and it will still be warm…keep NEAR a hot spot (oven) while resting. You can use ziti or penne if you can not find those Misko Greek noodles. One important thing I would change in this recipe is the one minute cook time of flour and butter when starting your Bechamel sauce. The butter and flour needs to cook off for about 5 minutes otherwise you get a very floury taste in the sauce. One minute is NOT enough. Also, when adding the eggs: you should have the eggs reserved and beaten in a little side bowl, add some of the hot flour/milk to the eggs(blend ) in the little bowl so that you bring the eggs to the temp of the flour and butter. If you add the cold eggs to the hot flour/butter the eggs will curdle and cook. Once your eggs have warmed up you can then add them to the pot of flour/butter mix. If your bechamel seems to thick you can always add some cold milk to thin it out. Just be sure to have your flame off when adding the eggs into the pot and the extra milk, if need be.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:27 am
Being half Greek half Swedish and with a Greek husband and two kids, living a ex patriot life in Asia. This “little blue cookbook” (swedish edition) is my treasure. The recipes are extremely simple and correct, the food taste just the way it should. Anyone who is interested in making real greek dishes this is the one and only book required. I can’t go anywhere in the world without it. :)
April 28th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Hello,
I wanted to thank you for posting this recipe.
My fiancée is Greek and his family makes the BEST food. My favorite dish his grandmother makes, is (obviously) Pasticcio. I’ve been wanting to learn how to make it, but could never find the right recipe.
I tried your recipe tonight and it was a success!! My fiancée couldn’t stop eating it!!
Thanks again,
Dani
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:11 am
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had this at a Greek restaurant during restaurant week one time and I loved it so so so so much but I had no idea what it was called and now I’m really really excited thank you so much I’m so happy that I randomly stumbled upon your blog :) YOUR CARROT CAKE LOOKS AWSOME TOO!!! :D:D
July 26th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I am French, leaving in the US (sigh), have leaved in Greece for several years, an avid cook and food enthousiast.
I just did five trays of pasticcio, because… for the first time I found the right pasta : the Misko large and long macaroni.
I haven’t done pasticcio for years but they came out fantastic,
let me add some advices :
• if you can not find real macaroni, you can not make REAL paticcio. Forget the zitties.
• cook your macaronies in a large broad pan (containing enough water) so they can cook FLAT and they don’t entangle. Don’t forget to put a splash of oil in the cooking water to prevent the macaronies to stick to much together.
Misko instructs you to boil for 11 to 12 minutes. Don’t do it for more than 7 or 8 minutes : cooking will resume in the oven.
Be very gentil when stiring, use a wooden spoon with no sharp angles : the idea is to obtain macaronies tubes absolutely non altered. Not broken or ripped. They have alway to lay flat, so don’t stir in a rotating motion but just move them gently back and forth.
I assume you have your meat sauce ready.
Before assembling your dish you have to prepare your macaronies as following :
• When time is done, put immediately a big bowl of ice cubs in the pan, in order to completely stop cooking. Do it gently, DON’T ALTER THE MACARONIES, DON’T DRAIN IN A COLANDER.
You want to have prepared a flat surface an have some kitchen linen towels at hand (not paper towels). Put one towel on your receiving surface (a large wooden kitchen board, for example), fish out the macaronies delicately, with tongs or other tool and put them STRAIT, FLAT on the towel, touching each others. This will be your first row (one package of the Misko will provide you with 5 rows of 28 to 30 macaronies on each layer), put another towel, slightly humide, on that first layer and create on this one a second layer of macaronies. Put another wet towel on the top and created a third layer, and so on until no macaronies left.
NOTE : you can use your hands (with kitchen gloves) to pick the macaronies and dispose them into nice falt layers on the towels).
Let all that cool for an hour or two.
The idea is to get five nice layers of macaronies looking like a piece of corrugated cardboard. Those will be your very nice layers, like organ pipes.
Butter generously your baking dish. You have to decide which size, the idea is to have 3 layers, having to cut the macaronies at a minimum.
Put one layer of macaronies on the botom. Sprinkle with a little milk (for humidity), coarsh black pepper, a dash of grated nutmeg, put a secon layer on the first macaronies layer.
They have to be perfectly strait, the exact same lengt, touching each other. Perper, and then, put a good layer of you meat sauce, 1/2 inch (the sauce has to be very thick). Add two other layer of macaronies, put on grated cheese(s). This is to your choice, depending if you want it softer or sharper. I use mozzarella (small amount), swiss, (larger amount) and parmegiano or greek cheese, depending on whom I will serve it. Some people don’t like to sharp or strong cheeses.
Put your last layer of macaronies on the top.
Cover the top layer with thick bechamel (definitievely cooked more than 1 minute !). A drop of ketchup and a dash of grated nutmeg will enhance the flavor of the bechamel where a mix of cheeses have been incorporated at the end and just slightly melted.
Reserve a little of the bechamel for serving
Put in oven and bake at 370 for as long as it takes (depending on the size of your dish, your oven etc…) the top should look golden brown, with darker spots and edges.
Let cool for about half an hour or a bit more.
And now there is the real and final result ! A high end restaurant presentation.
The idea is to cut out squares (I do them 3,5 x 2 inches).
They have to be perfectly cut (I use an utility knife, slighly oiled).
Take the squares out with a flat small spatula (you may mess up the first one in order to get to the others).
Put each square on individual pre-heated plates.
Put a little bechamel arround and a little on the top of the square (don’t cover it, you want to see the golden top)..
Garnish each square top with two small basil leaves and a dash of black fresh ground pepper.
Your pasticcio squares will look like the fanciest pastries, like a layer cake : neatly cut, you will see rows of maccaronies, perfectly lined up, with their holes like organ tubes, a nice red layer of meat sauce and an other top layer of macaronies, holes perfectly aligned and toped with the white creamy and golden bechamel toping.
Enjoy.
And remember presentation is a big part in cooking.
If you forget that you are not doing fine cooking but you are making “casserolles”. Beurk !
July 28th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
[...] Chicago heat already has me in the mood. Once I start dreaming of souvlaki, Greek salad, pasticcio, bougatsa and feta, it is impossible to push myself out of the taste bud trance. Last week, I [...]
August 31st, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I am def gonna make this. yum!
October 22nd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
This dish was wonderful:) Can’t wait to make it again!
March 14th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Best ever my grandma is itilian and would make this meal weekly for me and my sisters and brother we loved it. Goes great with french bread and butter and a cucumber oil salt and vinager salad lol with a side of pepsi and your in heaven loving your home cooked meal
September 2nd, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Sounds great – and now one question – what is the cookbook called?
November 11th, 2011 at 9:28 am
Thanx a lot for the recipe.. at the moment I live in Greece… i got married here so i learnt a lot of Greek dishes and i try to do all of them. Though i work a lot this week I’m going to make Pasticio. I didnt actually know how to make it exacltly and i was very happy finding ur recipe…
November 29th, 2011 at 5:50 am
great pictures…
[...]Pasticcio Recipe :: Whipped[...]…
January 6th, 2012 at 9:02 am
[...] used Whipped’s recipe and threw in a large eggplant, cubed, for added vegetables. I also added some cinnamon and [...]
January 6th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Made this about 1.5 months ago, put it in the freezer, and going to have it this weekend. Awesome recipe. Thanks!
February 18th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
If you want to save some time, you can use Giotis beshamel mixture, just mix it with cold milk for about a minute and you got a great beshamel. Only use that brand, there are others as well, but they don’t taste nearly as good. It’s excellent, but the problem is that you can only get it in Greece. As for the cheese, I use Regato, as most of the other people around here.
February 20th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thank you for this recipe! My former neighbor made this for me every once in awhile and I would practially weep with joy. For those who can’t find the pasta…Amazon.com sells it. 1.99 a package! I am ordering a few :) And my next night off, I am making this. And thank you so much, fellow readers for the other hints, as I have never made my own bechamel sauce. Happy cooking!
April 20th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Loved this recipe. I (ashamedly) used macaroni as it was the closest possible pasta to pasticcio noodles. Simply an amazing recipe. The most perfect bechamel and I loved the hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in the meat sauce. To die for. I did bake it for 30min at 400F (only had that much time) and it still turned out wonderfully. Thank you again!
April 21st, 2012 at 6:40 pm
Can someone tell me the name of the little blue cookbook? I would love to try to get one on eBay or Amazon. Just made this recipe…cannot believe how wonderful it is…thanks so much
September 15th, 2012 at 10:04 am
My thoughts exactly, Mary Lou. This much goodness must be shared!
September 17th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Here is the book information! The “little blue book” is called The Best Book of Greek Cookery, ISBN 960 226 119 6
November 14th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Great recipe. I’ll have to try this.
January 11th, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Just what exactly truly motivated u to post “Pasticcio Recipe ::
Whipped”? I actuallycertainly enjoyed the blog post!
Thanks for your time ,Yetta