Pastitsio - Recipe by Amy from The Glasgow Diet

We love seeing new and interesting ways to use a classic ingredient: beef mince. When we stumbled on this recipe by The Glasgow Diet, we just had to share it.

‘Moussaka gets a lot of attention when it comes to classic Greek dishes, so I thought I’d introduce you to its less famous brother, Pastitsio. It drops the aubergine and potato, replacing them instead with a layer of bucatini.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

4 cloves crushed garlic

1.5 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp oregano

500g beef mince

150ml red wine

250g tomato passata

200g bucatini or penne

75g feta

50g butter

50g plain flour

450ml milk

75g pecorino, grated

0.5 tsp ground nutmeg

3 eggs

Salt and pepper

METHOD

-Put a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 mins until soft, then add the garlic, cinnamon and oregano and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Turn the heat up, add the beef and cook until all the meat is browned, then add the red wine and passata. Season generously with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat for 30-40 mins.

-While it simmers, cook your bucatini or penne for 4-5 mins less than packet instructions and drain. Place it in a large roasting dish, sprinkle with 1 tsp oregano, crumble over the feta and add 1 beaten egg. Toss everything to coat then flatten into an even layer & set aside.

-Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes to make a paste or ‘roux’. Start adding the milk, a little at a time, stirring or whisky constantly, until thick. Remove from the heat and add the pecorino, nutmeg and 1 heaped tsp salt and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, whisk in 2 eggs until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 180c fan.

-To assemble, spread the beef mince ragu over the coated bucatini and spread into one even layer. Top with the thick bechamel. Sprinkle over some more pecorino and bake for 30-40 mins until golden brown. Leave it to stand at room temperature for 30 mins before serving – it will make it much easier to cut!

Please visit link to The Glasgow Diet for more recipes! John Gilmour Butchers mince can be found here. 

Thank you so much to Amy for allowing us to reshare the recipe. For her Instagram page, please click here