Pasticcio

[lesley]

When we visit Italy, this is one of the tastiest meals I've eaten. Usually served up in a small Trattoria, rather than the more expensive Ristorante. I make it with fresh pasta as the Italians do, but with a low fat sauce, it still turns out extremely yummy! You can either eat hot out the oven of leave overnight and have cold for lunch or a picnic the next day. If you can't get creme fraiche you can use yoghurt for the sauce. If you're not worried about the calories use a bechamel sauce.





Serves 4
Prep Time 10 mins
Cooking Time 30 mins
Ingredients
For the Sauce

1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Red (bell) pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 Large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
500g/1lb beef mince
400g/14oz Tinned tomatoes
Couple of splashes of dry white wine
2 Tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of dried oregano
60g/2oz Anchovies, drained and chopped

For the Topping

300ml/½ pint Crème fraiche
3 Large free range eggs
Pinch of nutmeg
60g/2oz Parmesan cheese, grated


For the Pasta

250g/8oz Fresh Fusilli
150ml/5oz Crème fraiche

Method

Make the sauce first
Heat the oil in a large wok and add the onions and pepper, cook for 3-4 minutes on a medium heat
Add the chopped garlic and cook for a minute
Add the beef mince and cook for a few minutes until browned
Add the tomatoes and a couple of splashes of dry white wine, stir
Bring to the boil and loosely cover, simmer for about 25 minutes
Stir in the anchovies, chopped parsley and season with freshly grated black pepper and a little salt
Turn off the heat, but cover and leave on the hob
Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and add the pasta
Cook according to the instructions on the pack, usually 3-4 minutes
Drain and stir in 150ml of crème fraiche
Put to one side, and make the topping
Whisk together the remaining crème fraiche, eggs and nutmeg
Grease an 8 inch/203mm/20.3cm casserole dish
Spoon in half the mince mixture, then half the pasta mixture
Repeat the process
Pour over the topping
Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top
Bake in a preheated oven for approx 30 minutes
Take out and pop under the grill to brown off the top


Equipment

8 inch/203mm/20.3cm casserole dish
Large saucepan
Electric blender or whisk

Shopping List

1 Onion
1 Red (bell) pepper
2 Large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
500g/1lb beef mince
400g/14oz Tinned tomatoes
Dry white wine
2 Tbsp Fresh parsley
Dried oregano
60g/2oz Anchovies
450ml/1 pint Crème fraiche
3 Large free range eggs
Nutmeg
60g/2oz Parmesan cheese
250g/8oz Fresh Fusilli

[deliciousjohn]

This is a Greek dish! Credit where credit is due, lol. There is actually a specific type of pasta that makes this dish, it is like long, thin, hollow, noodles. They hold the shape after cutting perfectly. Tastes great with a bit of cinnamon too.

[Artigiano]

If creme fraiche isn't available to you I personally mix buttermilk into heavy cream (basically evening out the 23% milkfat and tang). Oh Oh, and the Pasticcio is NOT greek, haha I'm all or giving credit to the proper owners but the first pasticcio was a pastiche that started being made in the mid 1700's by italian bakers who would sell pasticcio to customers for lunch.

[Matt Preston]

Forget Pasticcio, If you want greek then cook this recipe of mine.

[x]

Serving size: Serves 8
Cooking time: More than 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup fine cooking salt
4 medium or 2 large eggplant, sliced 1cm thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
1kg lamb mince
2 medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup beef or lamb stock
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
¼ cup olive oil, extra
60g butter
60g flour
3½ cups milk
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 egg yolks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Keftalotiri or parmesan cheese
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs


METHOD

Sprinkle salt all over eggplant slices in a colander; stand 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

Meanwhile, heat half of the oil in large frying pan. Add lamb and cook until browned. Drain lamb mince reserving juices and fat; chill.

Heat remaining oil in same pan and cook onion and garlic until softened and lightly browned. Add tomato paste, cinnamon, allspice, oregano and salt and pepper; cook stirring one minute. Return lamb to pan with tomatoes and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, half covered 45 minutes or until sauce is very thick and tomatoes have softened completely. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the extra olive oil in a large frying pan and pan-fry eggplant slices in batches, adding more oil as necessary until golden brown on each side; drain on absorbent paper. Pre-heat oven to 175°C (or 155°C fan-forced).

Make enriched béchamel sauce by heating butter in medium saucepan until melted. Add flour and cook, stirring 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add nutmeg, egg yolks and salt and pepper.

Assemble moussaka in large 2.5 litre capacity baking dish by layering 1/3 of the eggplant, then half of the mince. Repeat layering process, finishing with a layer of eggplant. Top with béchamel sauce and finally with combined cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbling. Stand 5 minutes before serving in large rectangles with green salad or steamed vegetables.

[Hayley]

I'm really glad you've posted up your recipe for pasticcio! The handwritten recipe, kindly passed to me from my mother-in-law went missing a while ago so I have been making her recipe from memory ever since. Trouble is that somewhere along the way a couple of ingredients have been missed so recently it hasn't been the favourite we remember! Your recipe has reminded me of those ingredients which had slipped. Many thanks!