Greek cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Pastitsio

Greek pasta bake with ground meat and a golden béchamel top.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 500 g macaroni
• 500 g ground beef
• Tomatoes
• Cinnamon
• Béchamel sauce
• Cheese

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef crumbly in a pan and season with salt; add the chopped tomatoes and cinnamon and simmer for 10 min into a thick sauce.
2. Cook the macaroni in salt water very al dente (2 min less than stated), drain and mix with a handful of grated cheese.
3. Prepare the béchamel sauce; preheat the oven to 180 °C.
4. Layer half the pasta into a baking dish, spread the meat sauce over it and cover with the remaining pasta.
5. Pour the béchamel over it and sprinkle with cheese.
6. Bake for about 45 min until golden brown and rest for 15 min so the pastitsio becomes sliceable.