Have you ever had pastichio? It is often explained as Greek lasagna. As a kid, my grandmother made it often, very often in fact, possibly weekly. As kids, we loved it. When she passed in ’95 my grandfather took upmaking it for us. His first few attempts we honorable, but quite terrible. You really need to have a bit of practice and finesse. He really nailed it though, and it brought us so much comfort. (funny how food can do that, right?)
After he passed, no one made it anymore, and as a high schooler, I decided to take it on. I consulted the black and white composition notebook my grandmother had written her recipes in (using teacups as measuring cups etc.) But the recipe wasn’t there. I consulted the internet, and my dad consulted family members. The first few were rough. There are a lot of moving parts in this recipe, plus some technique. Now that I am older, more experienced, I can make it from memory, pretty much eyeballing measurements. With Orthodox Easter coming up right around the corner, I will be making it for my family, consider making it for yours.
Here’s How I Make It:
Start by dicing up a good medium sized onion and two garlic cloves with olive oil.
Add a pound of ground hamburger meat. Cook completely though, then drain some fat(leave a little)
Add a small can of tomato paste to the ground meat, and add a little water to make it saucy. (sometimes I add regular pasta sauce, and no one seems to notice the difference)
Put the meat mixture aside and boil rigatoni (that’s with the lines) Cook it a little more than al dente because it can get too dry after baking in the oven otherwise. Sometimes I use the mezzi rigatoni for my kids.
Toss your cooked and drained pasta with some parmesan Romano cheese, my grandmother always bough the Pastene brand, and I do too.
Next you want to layer your pasta and meat into a casserole dish. Sometimes I get fancy and I butter the dish and dust it with parmesan Romano cheese first.
Dump in a single layer of rigatoni into your dish, cover it with your meat mixture, then cover with the rest of the pasta. If it doesn’t all fit, don’t feel like you have to use all the pasta. You are going to make the crema topping next, so you need more space in your casserole dish.
Now, I clean up my pots and pans, if I wait until the end, I get overwhelmed by the mess.
Once you have cleaned up, preheat your oven to 350.
Get out a saucepan, and slowly melt one stick of butter. While this is happening, measure 3/4 cup milk and beat in two eggs, set this aside. In a separate measuring cup measure two cups of milk, and set that aside as well. (whole milk works best) Once your butter is melted, add 1/2 cup of regular flour. My grandmother also added Farina cereal (about ¼ cup), and I do it too if I have it on hand. Gently cook the flour and butter to cook out the raw flour taste. You are making a roux, but you don’t want it to get dark as if you were making gumbo. Slowly start adding the 2cups of measured milk you have ready, constantly mixing. A whisk works best. Be careful not to let the stove get too hot, or else things can get away from you in a hurry. Once all the milk is in, keep cooking until you have a good think sauce, a gently rolling boil is what you are looking for here. Turn off the heat, and add a ladle full of hot sauce into your egg and milk mixture you have waiting. You are now tempering our eggs. Add a little more and a little more sauce tot he milk and egg mixture until the mixture feels warm and you are not afraid of creating scrambled eggs in your sauce. Dump everything back into the saucepot and turn the heat back on. You should have a thick, creamy crema sauce if you think it is too think, its ok to add a little more milk. Let it come to a slight bubble. Turn off the heat, salt and pepper to taste. I also add the parmesan Romano cheese, at least ½ a cup. Pour the hot crema on top of your casserole. It should be thick enough that it isn’t going to drip down, it is creating a topping or crust. Use a butter knife to spread it all the way to the edges, as though you are sealing it in.
Bake your casserole in the over for 45 minutes to an hour. The top should have a light golden brown color.
Some people add nutmeg to the crema topping, my grandmother never did, and I just can’t bring myself to accept it as an acceptable way to make it. But, of course, do your thing if that's what you like.
Happy Greek Easter everyone, I hope you enjoy!
Ingredient List
(Meat Mixture)
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 lb. hamburger meat
1 small can tomato paste
Water
(Pasta)
1 lb. well cooked rigatoni or mezzi rigatoni tossed with parmesan Romano cheese
(Béchamel Crema Sauce)
1 stick butter melted
½ cup flour
¼ cup Farina cereal
2 whole eggs mixed with ¾ cup whole milk
2 cups whole milk (a splash more if needed)
½ cup parmesan Romano cheese
Salt, pepper to taste
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes-1 hour until gently golden brown on the top
