How to make and bake Pastichio or Greek Lasagna

Want to try something new for dinner tonight?
Try a very popular Greek dish. Very simple.
It's called Pastichio or Pasticcio.
It is a great casserole dish that can be compared to Lasagna.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 lb. of Long Round Noodles
• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 Medium Onion
• 2 Oz. Water
• 1/2 Stick of Butter
• 1/3 Cup of Flour
• 1/2 Can of Tomato Paste
• 3 Cups of Milk
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Cups Grated Cheese
• 1 tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. Ground Nutmeg
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Pepper
• 2 to 3 Handfuls of Crushed Crackers or Saltines

1. 
   Chopped Onion

   First, you should chop the onion into small pieces.
   Also start boiling water for the noodles.

2. 
   Browning the meat.

   Next you should brown the meat.
   About halfway through browning, toss the onion into the pan to cook.

3. Once all the fat has evaporated or dissipated, add the tomato paste and water.
   Let this cook for a minute and then add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
   Cover and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes.

4. By now the meat and the noodles should be done cooking. Remove the meat from heat and set aside. Drain the noodles and also set aside.

5. 
   The perfect texture.

   In a large pan, melt the butter and throw in the flour. Constantly stir this or whisk to remove all lumps. What you are looking for is a smooth texture. Now add the milk in slowly.

6. 
   Beaten eggs.

   In a bowl, beat all the eggs. Keep an eye on the sauce so that it boils slowly. Also, keep stirring until it thickens up. Temper the eggs with a cup of the béchamel sauce. Now pour it back into the pan.
   Lower heat to about medium and stir. Make sure it is not boiling. After about two minutes add half of the grated cheese to the sauce and stir.
   Remove from heat and set aside.

7. Take a 2 quart casserole dish and grease it. I use the spray kind.

8. Now the fun part begins. Take half of the noodles and layer them on the bottom of the dish and cover that with 1/4 of the béchamel sauce.

9. 
   Layered up.

   On top of that place the rest of the noodles in a neat layer.
   Cover that with all the meat.
   Pour the rest of the béchamel over the meat.
   
   Bake this at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

10. 
    YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Crumble up some saltines or crackers and mix with the rest of the grated cheese.
    Throw this on top of the pastichio and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until nice and brown.
    
    Cut into square pieces and serve as is.

Tips & Warnings

• Adding the grated cheese and cracker topping is optional. I like the crunchiness it give to the dish.

[greekchick]

on 11/26/2009 Question for Alex about pastichio.
The image shows the meat between layers of macaroni, but the recipe says to place meat on top.
So...is it mac, meat, mac...topped with sauce or
is it mac, some sauce, rest of mac, meat, sauce?
Bessie