Greek Pastitsio: Make-Ahead Baked Pasta with Spiced Beef and Bechamel for Weeknights

Heat the oven to 350F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Boil the pasta 2 minutes short of package directions, drain, and toss with a little oil.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 pound bucatini or ziti
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups grated kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Boil the pasta 2 minutes short of package directions, drain, and toss with a little oil.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, brown the beef with the onion for 8 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, cinnamon, allspice and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer 15 minutes until thick, not watery.
4. For the bechamel, melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 8 minutes.
5. Take the sauce off the heat, let it cool 5 minutes, then whisk in the beaten eggs and half the cheese.
6. Toss half the remaining cheese with the pasta and spread it in the dish. Spoon the meat sauce over evenly.
7. Pour the bechamel over the top, smooth it to the edges and sprinkle with the last of the cheese.
8. Bake 45 to 50 minutes until deeply golden. Rest 20 minutes before cutting so the layers set into clean squares. To make ahead, assemble, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days, adding 15 minutes to the bake.
9. Pastitsio is the centerpiece of Greek Sunday tables and name-day parties, with roots in the Venetian pasticcio baked pies of the Ionian Islands. The cinnamon-warmed meat sauce and custardy bechamel cap were refined in the 1920s by chef Nikolaos Tselementes, and the dish reheats beautifully, making it an ideal cook-once, eat-twice weeknight meal.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 640 kcal
• Protein: 34g
• Fat: 30g
• Carbohydrates: 56g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 9g
• Sodium: 720mg