Bechamel Sauce
½ stick butter cut into pieces
5 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Meat sauce
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lb ground beef
½ lb ground lamb
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ tablespoon salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup water
1 can diced tomatoes 15 oz.
2 bay leaves
Pasta
1 lb penne pasta or pastitsio pasta No.2
3 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Bechamel sauce
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Add in the flour and whisk well. Cook until it doesn’t smell raw.
Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly to make sure no lumps form.
lower the heat and add the salt and pepper.
Keep stirring and cooking until the sauce thickens.
Turn the heat off, stir the parmesan into the sauce.
Add in the eggs one by one and stir very well after each addition. Set the bechamel sauce aside.
Meat sauce
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
Add in the tomato sauce and mix it with the onion and garlic.
Add in the ground beef and ground lamb. Brown them in the pan and break them as you cook them.
Add in oregano, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for a minute.
Add in the water, canned tomatoes and add the bay leaves. Keep the heat on medium and cook the meat sauce for about 30 minutes or until the water is almost evaporated.
Taste the sauce to make sure it has enough salt, add more if needed.
Remove the bay leaves and set the sauce aside.
Pasta
Cook the penne according to the packaging and drain.
Once the pasta is cool enough to handle, place it in a bowl and mix it with olive oil, eggs, parmesan and parsley to it.
Assemble:
Preheat the oven to 350F and coat a 9X13 baking pan with non stick spray.
Transfer the pasta to the baking pan. Top it with all the meat sauce and make sure to spread evenly.
Top the meat sauce with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese if desired.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until it’s all set and the top is golden brown.
To cut, let the pastitsio cool for 10 minutes, then using a large, sharp knife, slice the baked pasta into squares.