Pastitsio
Greek baked pasta with a cinnamon-spiced beef sauce under a thick, golden layer of creamy béchamel.
- 135 min total
- 60 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 8
- About $2.46 a serving
- 680 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 8 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1½ lb 85/15 ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 lb ziti
- 1 cup grated parmesan, divided
- 6 tbsp butter
- 4 cups milk
- 2 large eggs
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Each serving has about 680 calories, 34 g protein, 61 g carbs and 31 g fat, and costs about $2.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F. Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and set it on high to come .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Heat the oil in a large over medium, add the onion, and cook 5 minutes, until soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beef, and cook 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, cinnamon and oregano for 1 minute, then pour in the wine and let it bubble 2 minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Stir in the tomato sauce, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt, turn the heat to low, and 15 minutes, until thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
While it , cook the ziti 2 minutes less than the package says. , and it with ¼ cup of the parmesan.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
High heat
For the creamy top, the butter in a large over medium, whisk in the flour, and cook 1 to 2 minutes, , until it smells toasty.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Slowly whisk in the milk and cook 6 to 8 minutes, often, until thick like pudding. Off the heat, let it cool 5 minutes, then whisk in the eggs, ½ cup parmesan and ½ teaspoon salt.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Add the milk a little at a time and keep whisking to keep it smooth. Let it cool before the eggs go in, or they scramble.Spread half the pasta in a 9x13-inch baking dish, then all the meat sauce, then the rest of the pasta. Pour the sauce over the top and scatter the last ¼ cup parmesan.
45 to 50 minutes, until the top is puffed and . Let it 20 minutes before cutting.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 47 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The rest sets the layers, so each square holds its shape.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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