GREEK PASTITSIO CASSEROLE

Are you familiar with Greek Pastitsio? I love to make new dishes and because there are so many recipes available on the internet, I can literally spend hours collecting more delicious looking recipes than I could ever possibly make in my lifetime. I often forget all about the cookbooks I have on my bookshelves. I opened the pages of an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and came upon an Americanized version of a Greek classic. Pastitsio Greek Casserole is a pasta dish that contains ground beef and béchamel

Pastitsio is similar to Italian Lasagna. The typical Greek version has a bottom layer of tubular pasta, with cheese and egg as a binder, a middle layer of ground beef, veal or lamb with tomato and cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice, then another layer of pasta. These layers are then topped with a Béchamel.

Pastitsio is a popular dish, and is often served as a main course, with a salad. This version is a simplified one in that the meat and sauce layer is combined. It is not as attractive as the defined layers but it sure is tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 16-oz can tomatoes, cut up
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 2 cups elbow macaroni, dry
• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup feta cheese OR American Cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 4 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat is browned; drain off excess fat. Add un-drained tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme and 1 tsp salt. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes, stirring often.
2. Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to package directions; drain well. Stir egg whites and cheese into macaroni; stir in meat mixture. Turn into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or pan.
3. ........................................

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