(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Washington Post
"For me, today, pastitsio is pure comfort. But it's not a dish that was around very often when I was growing up,” says Christina Xenos, a Los Angeles-based chef and cookbook author who won an episode of "Chopped” earlier this year.
"I remember eating pastitsio when we went out to a Greek restaurant, at our annual Greek festival, or during holidays if my Aunt Marge was cooking,” Xenos tells me. "When I was living in Athens, Greece, for a summer, I ordered it at least once a week.”
Xenos, a second-generation Greek American - her grandparents immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century - grew up near Dayton, Ohio. She has fond memories of the first time she made pastitsio with her mother-in-law, Georgia Lyras, a former chef and cookbook author. "She would often visit my husband and I, and we spent a lot of time cooking together while she was here. I remember feeling very accomplished when we made it that first time, because we used nearly every pot in my kitchen,” Xenos recalls. "My recipe is based on hers but has evolved over the years with tweaks here and there.”
Almost all pastitsio recipes start with par-cooked, hollow pasta, which is mixed with a cream sauce and spread into the bottom of a deep baking dish. This is topped with a dense meat sauce, typically seasoned with warm spices. Finally, a thick layer of cream sauce enriched with sharp Greek cheese is spread on top before the whole thing is baked until the flavors have mingled, the elements have melded and the top is a tantalizing speckled brown.
But Xenos tells me that pastitsio recipes were not always this exacting. Sometimes called Greek lasagna, the dish's Italian origins are not difficult to trace. "You will find Venetian influence all over Greek cuisine,” Xenos says, noting that the Venetians occupied parts of present-day Greece from the 12th to 18th centuries. Pastitsio probably comes from the Ionian Islands, which are nearest to Italy; even the dish's name, "pastitsio,” is from the Italian "pasticcio,” which means both "pie” and "mess.”
Consequently, early recipes for the dish are messy and pie-like. In "Cooks and Other People: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery,” Greek food historian Aglaia Kremezi writes of early versions that were composed of "thick spaghetti mixed with chopped liver, meat, eggs and cheese ... wrapped in [phyllo pastry].”
The pastitsio that we know and love today did not exist until 1910, or thereabouts, when the Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes published his "Odigos Mageirikis (Guide to Cooking).” Clearly influenced by the French techniques he observed while working in a hotel kitchen in Vienna, Tselementes removed the phyllo, separated the components into layers and covered the whole thing with a thick layer of bechamel - the French cream sauce thickened with a roux and sometimes enriched with cheese (at which point it may be referred to as a mornay) - making it, Kremezi wrote, "a kind of au gratin,” which is what the French call a thing when it's blanketed in sauce, breadcrumbs or cheese and browned on top.
Tselementes's book, which was reprinted 15 times, has left an indelible impression on Greek culture. According to Saveur, a Greek-speaking person today is more likely to call a cookbook, any cookbook, a "tselemente” rather than a "vivlio mageirikis,” which literally translates to "cooking book.”
Xenos sent me a photo of her copy of Tselementes's book, from its 12th print run in 1962. It's in Greek, but she helpfully translated the chef's recipe for "macaronia pastitsio sketo” (roughly, "macaroni pie”), which describes a baked pasta with bechamel, cheese and breadcrumbs sprinkled on the top and bottom. Xenos explains that the addition of meat is a variation listed as a secondary recipe. "He says that if you want to add the meat sauce, decrease the amount of pasta and add the layer of meat sauce, which is how we make it today.”
This recipe is adapted from the one Xenos makes for clients and family, but it has been trimmed down to fit into a standard 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Still, it is unlike the majority of the recipes I feature in this column, because it will take you two hours to make, and much of that is hands-on time.
But maybe you are hosting friends this weekend, or having family in from out of town later this month? Maybe you're looking for a centerpiece for a big meal or something spectacular to bring to a potluck? That's what pastitsio is for: an occasion, a celebration worthy of its pricey ingredients and straightforward-but-time-consuming labor. In fact, you could make a pastitsio and then, while it's baking, invite folks over. The promise of pastitsio is reason enough to throw a party.
(You could also be in the mood to make a big casserole on a day off, eat some with a loved one and freeze the rest. Or, maybe you want to make something nice for a friend who is under the weather. There are many occasions for which pastitsio is the answer.)
Those with access to Greek ingredients will be able to make pastitsio the way cooks do in Greece. Those who don't - or who want to make a vegetarian version - can try the suggested recipe substitutions. Pastitsio can stand alone, or you could serve it with a big salad, a platter of lemony potatoes and green beans, and, for dessert, golden portokalopita or a pan of crispy, syrup-soaked baklava for a meal that's merry and bright.
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Pastitsio
Pastitsio, a Greek dish that is sometimes compared to lasagna, is made up of layers of hollow pasta, meat sauce and creamy bechamel. In this recipe adapted from Los Angeles-based chef Christina Xenos, the meaty tomato sauce is seasoned with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, while the bechamel is tangy and sharp thanks to Greek yogurt and kefalotyri - a hard, salty white cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk (or both) in Greece and Cyprus - though pecorino Romano or parmesan may be substituted.
Traditionally, a long, hollow noodle is used in pastitsio; bucatini is similar and penne or ziti can be used as well. (Wider hollow noodles, such as rigatoni, are not recommended, because they will take up too much space in the pan.) This is a cooking project, and it makes a lot, but the results can feed a crowd - or freeze beautifully.
12 servings (makes one 9-by-13-inch casserole)
Active time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus resting time.
Storage note: Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze, wrapped airtight, for up to 2 months.
Make ahead:The meat sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance. The dish can be assembled up to 1 day in advance before baking.
Notes: Misko brand noodles and kefalotyri can be found at Greek or Mediterranean markets.
INGREDIENTS
For the bechamel:
-- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
-- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-- 4 cups whole or reduced-fat milk, at room temperature
-- 1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
-- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed
-- Freshly ground black pepper
-- 3 large eggs
-- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Greek-style plain yogurt, any fat percentage
-- 1 cup (3 ounces) packed, grated kefalotyri, pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese
For the meat sauce:
-- 1 tablespoon olive oil
-- 1 pound ground beef, preferably 85 percent lean
-- Fine salt
-- 1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), diced
-- 2 medium carrots (6 ounces total), diced
-- 2 ribs celery (4 ounces total), diced
-- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
-- 2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
-- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
-- 1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
-- One (15-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
For the pasta and assembly:
-- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
-- 12 ounces hollow noodles, such as penne, bucatini, ziti or Misko brand macaroni No. 2 (see Where to buy)
-- 2/3 cup (2 ounces) packed, grated kefalotyri, pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese, divided
DIRECTIONS
Make the bechamel: In a medium (3-quart) saucepan over medium-high, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until the mixture looks pasty but smooth, and cook, stirring constantly, until it smells toasty and is light golden brown, 3 to 6 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk. Take care, as the milk may sputter and splatter. Add the nutmeg, and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick enough for the whisk to leave a visible trail and coat the back of a spoon without immediately running off, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Taste, and season with the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Taste again, and season with more salt, if needed. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. (Do not let the sauce cool completely at this stage.)
In a small bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Whisk the eggs, yogurt and cheese into the mixture in the saucepan until well combined. This is your bechamel.
Make the meat sauce: In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the beef and a generous pinch of salt, and cook, breaking up the meat into nubbins with a wooden spoon, until brown, 3 to 5 minutes. (The beef will not be cooked through.) If there is a lot of grease at the bottom of the pan, discard all but about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, carrots, celery and another pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onion just begins to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, and cook until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the sauce thickens, 10 to 15 minutes.
Assemble the pastitsio: While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch ovenproof dish that has at least 2-inch-high sides with butter. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 3 minutes less than the package instructions for al dente. Drain, and return the pasta to the pot. Add 1/3 cup (1 ounce) of the cheese, 1 cup of the bechamel and the butter, and stir gently to combine. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish, and use a flexible spatula to spread it into an even, compact layer.
Spread the meat sauce evenly over the pasta, then pour the remaining bechamel over, spreading it from edge to edge. (If your dish isn't deep enough, you may need to hold some bechamel back. Do not overfill the pan, because it may bubble over in the oven.) Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup (1 ounce) of cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, or until the top is speckled golden brown.
Remove the pastitsio from the oven, and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Substitutions: ground beef >> ground lamb, ground turkey, a plant-based substitute or finely chopped mushrooms. A combination of finely chopped mushrooms and walnuts would also be good. If you don't have allspice >> add a pinch of ground cloves, or skip it.
Nutritional information per serving | 425 Calories: 41g Carbohydrates, 109mg Cholesterol, 21g Fat, 2g Fiber, 21g Protein, 11g Saturated Fat, 399mg Sodium, 9g Sugar
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian's or nutritionist's advice.`
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