[...]Pasticcio Recipe :: Whipped[...]…

• 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 !