Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 14 oz. can tomato puree
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1 pkg. ziti
4 egg whites (reserve the yolks for béchamel sauce)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 quart milk, warmed
8 egg yolks, beaten lightly
a pinch of ground nutmeg
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Directions: |
Directions:Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add ground beef and cook over medium heat until pink color disappears. Add onions and cook until they are translucent. Add wine, tomato sauce, parsley, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and allow the sauce to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp. breadcrumbs to meat sauce to absorb excess liquid and remove from heat.
Boil pasta noodles according to package directions and drain well. Rinse noodles in a colander under cold water to cool them slightly.
Melt 1/2 cup butter in pasta pot and return cooked noodles to the pot. Stir in beaten egg whites and grated cheese and toss lightly.
Brush the bottom and sides of the lasagna pan with olive oil. Layer the bottom with half the pasta noodles and press down so that they are somewhat flat. Add the meat filling in an even layer to the pasta. Top with remaining pasta noodles and flatten top layer.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F while you prepare the béchamel sauce.
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Using a whisk, add flour to melted butter whisking continuously to make a smooth paste or roux. Allow the flour/butter mixture to cook for a minute but do not allow it to brown. Remove from heat and stir in beaten egg yolks. Add a pinch of nutmeg. If sauce still needs to thicken, return to heat and cook over very low heat while continuing to stir.
Pour the béchamel sauce over the pasta noodles making sure to pour sauce down into the corners as well. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in 350 F oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the top is a nice golden color. |
This recipe for Greek Pastitsio is from