Greek Pastitsio Lunch with Layered Macaroni, Spiced Beef and Bechamel

Make the meat sauce: heat olive oil in a deep skillet, soften the onion 6 minutes, add garlic for 1 minute, then add the beef and brown thoroughly, breaking up clumps. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 minute, then deglaze with the red wine and simmer until almost evaporated.

Ingredients

• For the meat sauce (serves 6):
• 500g ground beef (80/20)
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g tin crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 150ml dry red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• Salt and black pepper
• For the pasta layer:
• 500g bucatini or thick tube macaroni (#2 pasta)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 60g grated kefalotyri (or pecorino)
• For the bechamel topping:
• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g plain flour
• 1 litre whole milk, warmed
• Pinch of grated nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 80g grated kefalotyri
• Salt and white pepper

Instructions

1. Make the meat sauce: heat olive oil in a deep skillet, soften the onion 6 minutes, add garlic for 1 minute, then add the beef and brown thoroughly, breaking up clumps. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 minute, then deglaze with the red wine and simmer until almost evaporated.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, oregano, allspice, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes until thick and rich. Discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
3. Boil the pasta in well-salted water until just al dente (1 minute short of the package time). Drain, toss with olive oil to prevent sticking, then mix in the beaten egg and grated kefalotyri.
4. Make the bechamel: melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes without colouring. Gradually whisk in the warm milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and glossy (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in nutmeg, salt and white pepper, and let cool 5 minutes before whisking in the eggs and kefalotyri.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread half the pasta in the dish, smooth flat. Spoon all the meat sauce over evenly. Top with the remaining pasta, pressing gently.
6. Pour the bechamel over the top in an even thick blanket. Smooth with a spatula and dust the surface with a little extra grated kefalotyri.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is deeply golden, puffed and set. The kitchen will smell of cinnamon, browned butter and toasted cheese.
8. Rest at least 20 minutes before cutting (essential — pastitsio must be sliceable, not soupy). Cut into squares and serve warm with a Greek horiatiki salad on the side.
9. Pastitsio is the heart of the Greek Sunday table, the dish a yiayia makes for the whole family on a long lunchtime that stretches into the afternoon. Its name comes from the Italian 'pasticcio' (a baked pie or jumble), a legacy of the centuries when the Venetian and Genoese influence reached the Greek islands — but the Greek version, with its warm cinnamon-and-allspice ragu and snow-white bechamel crown, is something entirely its own. Every Greek cook insists on a slightly different ratio, a different spice balance, a different pasta — but the silhouette of three neat baked layers, the soft creak of the bechamel crust under a knife and the smell of cinnamon-beef are unmistakably, unmissably Greek.