Traditional Greek Pastitsio recipe: the ultimate comfort food

This delicious dish can be a little challenging to make. Still, our easy-to-follow Greek Pastitsio recipe is broken up into three easy steps to recreate this traditional culinary delight, just like your Yiayia used to make.

(serves 12)

Ingredients:

3 pounds of ground beef

One large onion, chopped.

Two 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce

Salt, to taste

Two handfuls of long macaroni (or mostaccioli noodles)

4 cups of grated cheese (I use mozzarella and parmesan though traditional recipes call for kasseri cheese)

6 oz of butter

Four eggs

1 cup of flour

5 1/2 cups whole milk

Method:

Add a little olive oil to a large pot and set to medium. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the ground beef and stir until browned. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer—season with salt to taste. Let meat sauce stew for 1-3 hours with a lid, slightly askew. Stir occasionally.

Grate the cheese and set it aside.

Cook noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain noodles and put them in a large bowl. Mix one egg into the pastitsio noodles with your hands.

In a large pan, drizzle olive oil on the bottom. Put the egg-tossed noodles in the bottom of the pan and arrange them evenly. Sprinkle with a third of the shredded cheese. Cover the noodles and cheese evenly with all or most of the meat mixture. Sprinkle another third of the cheese over the meat layer.

Now the sauce. In a large pot, melt 4 oz of butter. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk to combine. Cook, constantly stirring for a minute or two. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Cook and whisk until it starts to bubble. Turn off the heat.

In a separate bowl, beat three eggs and 1/2 cup of milk. Add this mixture to the pot slowly, whisking the whole time.

Put back on medium-high heat and cook and whisk until thick. When at the desired consistency, cut the heat and let the béchamel sit for a few minutes.

After the béchamel has rested a few minutes, pour it over the meat and cheese layer. Put the remaining cheese over the béchamel. Melt 2 oz of butter and drizzle the melted butter on the cheese.

Place pan into an oven preheated to 350º and baked for 1 hour until browned.

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.