Penne Pastitsio

Pastitsio is the ultimate Greek comfort food, but it’s often overlooked in favour of moussaka (also delicious, but not in the same league…)

Think of pastitsio as like a Greek lasagne. It features pasta mixed with salty crumbly feta, topped with a rich beef sauce flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg, all finished with a creamy Greek bechamel which is enriched with egg yolk.

All in all, this pasta recipe is a little piece of heaven. My version is a little different to the traditional one because I use penne rather than bucatini. There are a couple of reasons for this – firstly, penne is much easier to get hold of without having to hunt online, and secondly I find it works better when you’re going to eat the pastitsio immediately rather than let it sit and rest for a while before eating (as is traditional, but I have never managed to do).

Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations

The bottom layer

Layer one is made up of penne, feta and egg whites (we use the egg yolk later on). The little feta nuggets throughout the pasta are so tasty! The egg gently binds the pasta together, making it hold together much more than it would in, for example, a pasta bake.

The middle layer

The middle layer is my favourite! A beef sauce flavoured with ground cinnamon and clove. It’s utterly delicious – and completely different to your bolognese sauce. For this layer, it’s best to reduce down and give it plenty of time to cook – the more those flavours get to deepen, the better. The other ingredients you’ll need for the meat sauce are onion, garlic, beef mince, passata and bay.

The top layer

The top layer of pastitsio is much like the top layer of a moussaka. You make a bechamel (flour and butter, milk, whisk until it thickens), then add a little ground nutmeg and the egg yolks. The egg yolks set the top layer a little, so that it’s a different texture to the top of a lasagne, for example. The whole thing is then topped with a generous grating of hard cheese (I use Parmesan – Greek varieties are not readily available where I live).

Tip Tips

1. Take your time This is not a dish to make when you need a quick and easy dinner. It needs time and patience. I often make the meat sauce in the morning and let it blip away for most of the day, then make the pasta and topping just before I’m ready to cook. Remember, it needs baking time too!
2. Get ahead Pastitsio is GREAT for freezing. In fact, I made it when I was heavily pregnant and stored portions in the freezer to reheat when baby arrived. It was the best gift to myself! It will freeze for up to three months.
3. Layering If possible, let all of the components cool slightly before starting the layering process. If your topping gets too thick when you leave it, just give it another whisk and it will loosen up.

More delicious Greek recipes:

• Greek Style Flatbread Pizzas
• Greek Style Crispy Chicken Pittas
• Greek Sharer with Courgette Fritters
• Greek Style Roast Chicken and Vegetables
• Greek Salad with Baked Feta and Tzatziki
• Spinach and Feta Filo Pie
• Feta, Olive and Chilli Filo Parcels
• Chicken Thigh Kebabs
• Vegetable Moussaka
• Simple Prawn Saganaki
• Delicious Feta and Dill Pie