Geoffrey Patmides is The Local Greek!
He stopped by with a recipe for Greek Lasagna.
Pastitsio Recipe
Bechamel sauce -
6 Tbs. butter
3/4 cup flour
1 qt whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Filling-
Olive oil
2 white onions chopped
2 lbs ground beef
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and pepper
2 tbs tomato paste
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1 lb Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs minced garlic
For the bechemel sauce-
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and then gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in the salt and nutmeg , remove from heat and let cool. When the sauce is lukewarm, whisk in the eggs. Set aside.
Filling -
Preheat oven to 350 and grease up a 9/13 pan Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add the onions and saute until softened and golden. Crumble the beef into the skillet and cook with the onions until the beef is browned. Stir in the cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir in the water and tomato paste, and simmer for 5 minutes take off heat.
Boil your pasta in a stock pot. Add a few punches of salt to the water. Once water is boiling then add pasta. Cook 6-8 min then drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking process.
Then start to layer the pastitsio. First layer half of your noodles topped with a generous amount of Parmesan on the bottom, then the spread the meat evenly over the pasta adding more Parmesan. Then add the rest of your pasta with a little more Parmesan then gently pour the béchamel sauce over the top of the pasta add the rest of the Parmesan then bake in your oven For about 40-50 minutes or when the top is a nice brown color. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to cool and settle then serve.
You can visit the Local Greek at 3673 West 13400 South in Riverton. 801-503-8055.
You can also get more information at thelocalgreek.com.
