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Ground Beef Pastitsio
When my husband and I first started dating, he didn’t like onions or garlic. As I began my mission to convince him of the deliciousness he was missing out on, I found a recipe for pastitsio for two. I used ground lamb, as in the classic Greek recipe, and over the years this recipe has evolved and become a staple in our home, usually with beef replacing the lamb.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Entrées
Ingredients
Scale
- Pastitsio
- 1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- Béchamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk, warm
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until no longer pink. Add the salt, pepper, and oregano and remove from the heat.
- Spread 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce in the baking dish and top with half of the cooked pasta.
- Top with the meat and the remaining sauce. Cover with the provolone and the remaining pasta.
- For the béchamel: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, to form a paste. Add the milk and continue to stir as the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover the casserole with the béchamel sauce and bake for 40 minutes. Serve, topped with crushed red pepper and chopped parsley.
