Last Monday night (Oct 21st) I presented this recipe at Grebe's, in Wausau, WI. Please, contact me if you have any questions. This pasta dish is an all time favorite among the people of Greece.

Vasileios

Pastitsio

Ingredients:

For The Pasta:

2 lbs Pasta (Penne or Perciatelli style)

For The Sauce:

2 lbs Ground Beef

1/3 cup Paeleon EVOO

1 Large Onion chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic chopped

1 cup Tomato Sauce

¼ cup Brandy (otional)

1 tsp Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Bay Leaf

Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

For The Cream:

6 cups Fresh Milk

6 Tbsp Corn Flour

2Tbsp Paeleon EVOO

3 Eggs

½ tsp Allspice

Salt

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Pasta:

Cook the pasta as usual in a pot of water. Drain the water and put aside.

Sauce:

Pour the Paeleon EVOO in a large pan and warm it up. Add the ground beef and sauté it for 8 minutes. Add the onion and the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Pour the Brandy over the top and stir for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and stir well. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes (remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaf half time into the simmering).

Cream:

In a large pot pour the milk and heat it to medium-high temperature. Add the corn flour, the Paeleon EVOO, allspice and salt and stir continuously for about 10 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick. Sometimes the mixture takes a little longer to thicken. If you have difficulty, try raising the heat a little. After the cream becomes thick, remove from the fire and while stirring mix in the egg yolks one by one. Add ¾ cup of the parmesan and mix well.

Bake:

Oil a baking tray and add half the pasta. Spread evenly at the bottom of the tray. Pour a cup of the cream over the pasta. Spread evenly. Take a cup of cream and mix it well with the sauce. Pour that in the baking tray and spread evenly. Add the rest of the pasta over the top, spread the remaining cream and finish with ¼ cup of parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold and Enjoy!