Traditional Greek Pasta Bake (Παστίτσιο)

Apparently this is what the crew eat on the Greek ships, so despite the fact (I've heard) that they do not have the greatest reputation for on-board safety, at least your last meal would be a good one. 

This is is the epitome of the Greek-Cypriot kitchen and you will find it at every festive celebration. The party just isn't complete without the μακαρόνια του φούρνου (makaronia tou fournou). Well, it's always there because yiayia has made it and you hope that there is some left because you can take it home and keep it in the freezer for you to enjoy all by yourself on one of those flake-out evenings. 

I have no doubt that this is one of the most famous recipes, lasagne loving Italians move out of the way because we Greeks also know a thing or two about pasta bakes ;) 

Half a pack of macaronia (we use long pasta tubes)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons dried mint

half tsp ground cinammon

1/2 pack of halloumi cheese

350g pork mince

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree

100ml white wine

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

For the bechamel:

3-4 glasses milk

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 eggs, beaten 

half teaspoon of nutmeg

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Heat some oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion, stir for a few minutes. Add the tomato puree and pork mince and cook for a further 5 minutes, until it has browned. Now add the wine and smell the lovely aroma as it sizzles. After a couple of minutes add the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook over a medium heat for about 5-10 more minutes. Turn it off and leave aside. 

Meanwhile boil the pasta for 8 minutes. Then drain and add the butter, mint and cinnamon. Stir well to ensure the pasta is covered. Now get a large baking dish and add a thin layer of the meat mixture, then a layer of pasta, then meat and so on until you run out of both. 


In a saucepan melt the butter over a low heat, then add the flour and stir with a whisk continuously. Slowly add the milk and keep stirring until, then the eggs (still stirring) until you form a thick bechamel sauce. The mixture should be thick and creamy, you can add more milk to make it thinner or more flour to thicken it. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Now pour it over the top of the layers in the baking dish. 

Place into the oven and cook for around 40 minutes. When it is done, you can eat it immediately or leave it to cool and eat is as part of a midday lunch. It is delicious cold too!