Recipe Weekend: It's All GREEK!

Greeks have been in the NOLA area since the late 1700s, and the first Holy Trinity Greek orthodox church started in 1866 in the Treme section of NOLA.

This year the Church is celebrating it's 45th year of its Greek festival, and its history of NOLA's 300 years!

One of the highlights is Pastitsio, a traditional Greek lasagna type dish. it is made with layers of long tube shaped pasta, blended with egg and cheese, covered with a ground lamb sauce, made with tomato, cinnamon, bay leaf and other seasonings. Then the pasta dish is then topped with a Béchamel sauce and grated cheese and baked. It NEVER tastes the same at home, which is why we all head to Greek fest for it! LOL

Check out how they make enough for THREE days!

We actually have been eating the dish a lot longer than we have lived in NOLA- we were introduced to it while living in California. We lived just down from a Greek orthodox church and every time they had a major holiday celebration, the entire block was invited! Those old ladies could COOK an amazing amount of food in one week! I got my love for this dish, baklava and roasted lamb from them! Mom got friendly with the ladies, and even though they couldn't convert her, they share this recipe with her, so we could make it when we moved! After tasting the NOLA version, she made a slight revision, but it's still pretty close to the original recipe! Pastitsio- NOLA Style Makes ONE 9x13 DEEP dish baking pan Ingredients:

Pasta:

8 oz bucatini pasta (or thin ziti pasta if you can't find it)

3 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cp Kefalyorti cheese (you can sub Romano Pecorino cheese), grated

1/3 up milk

1 egg, beaten

Meat:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp. butter

1 lb. ground lamb, or beef and lamb mix

1/2 cp chopped onion (or trinity if you're in NOLA)

8 oz can tomato puree (or sauce)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 bayleaves- leave whole

1/8 tsp. pepper

Bechamel Sauce:

4 tbsp. butter

1/2 cp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 cps milk (or part milk and heavy cream)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 - 1 1/2 cps Kefalyorti or Romano Pecorino cheese

 (if you wanted a larger top layer of cheese, use the 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

1, Preheat oven to 375 degrees, Brush 9x13 baking pan with olive oil.

2. Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than directions, drain, and place in large mixing bowl.

3. While pasta is still warm, stir in the melted butter, 1/3 cup Kefalyorti cheese, 1/3 cup milk, and the egg into the pasta, and place in baking dish, spreading to cover entire dish.

4. In a skillet, add butter and onion/trinity and cook til tender, then add olive oil and ground meat. Cook mix until meat is browned, about 8-10 minutes. Drain excess fat.

5. Stir in tomato puree, and spices, stir and cook about 15 minutes, to allow spices to soak into meat. Remove bayleaves.

6. Spoon meat mix over pasta in baking dish. You are supposed to spread it to cover the pasta entirely. But a trick my mom was taught, was to leave some small patches open, to allow for the bechamel sauce to seep down. Set aside.

7. In large saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then mix in flour and pepper/salt. Allow to start to brown, about 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the 2 cups milk and nutmeg, whisking well after each addition, so that no lumps form. Cook and stir on medium high until sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.

8. Beat eggs in a small bowl, then pour into cream sauce, whisking briskly, then blend in the 1/3 cup Kefalyorti  cheese.

9. Pour cream sauce over top of meat mixture, to cover completely.

10. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned. 

11. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a light salad and bread. Enjoy!