Let’s swap…

Winter WonderlandPastitsio is a favorite dish in our house often served, as it will be this year, on the night before Christmas, aka the Eve.

This particular version is from Cooking Light 5/03.

Filling:

  • 1 lb. uncooked bucatini pasta
  • 1 lb. ground sirloin
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 tsp each salt, ground nutmeg, black pepper

White sauce:

  • 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups 2% milk
  • 2 large eggs + 2 large egg whites
  • 5 tbsps shredded Kasseri or aged white cheddar, divided
  • 1/4 cup grated fresh Pecorino or Romano cheese

To prepare filling: cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and set aside. Cook beef, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Add wine, tomato sauce, and spices; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 mins or until thickened.

To prepare white sauce: place flour and salt in a medium sauce pan. Gradually stir in milk with a whisk. Reduce heat and cook 10 mins until thickened, longer if necessary. Remove from heat. Combine eggs, egg whites and gradually stir into cooled mixture. Stir in one tablespoon of cheese.

In a 9X13 baking dish — I use a glass oval — layer 1 cup beef mixture, top with 1/2 of the pasta; then 1 1/2 cups of beef mixture. Repeat layers as necessary. Poor white sauce over. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar & Romano cheeses. Bake at 350 (325  for glass dish) for 30 mins. Let stand 15 mins before serving. (You can refrigerate after assembling and bake later, but allow more time for baking.)

Note: Do not substitute regular spaghetti for the bucatini, if you can avoid it. The hollow tube pasta makes a difference in the flavor of the dish. Go figure.

This is so flavorful, my family begs me to make it every year. I’d make it more often, but — carbs, baby, carbs. I usually serve this with salad greens and citrus, lightly dressed.

Got a favorite holiday dish? Let’s hear it.

Elen

8 thoughts on “Let’s swap…”

  1. Okay, as I’ve told you, I’ve been known to drive 10 HRS (!!!!) to Savannah just for this dish because I cannot find it here. (You know, I’ll bet I have that magazine.)

    But this is not exactly the Top Chef capital of the world. I figure I can use a hollow tube pasta (what’s that one with the diagonal ends?) but aged white cheddar???? Kasseri??? Are you suggesting that Velveta or Kraft American slices won’t work? Sigh.

    Oh, I do know why the tube works best. Because heavy sauces fill in the tube; same as they fill the spaces in the spiral rotini and rotelli.

    Guess I’ll just have to come to the Great White North and let you make it for me. I did, after all, share my recipe for Firehouse Brownies! 😉

    Love the snow pic, btw!

    And yes, I’m overusing punctuation marks. But I’m a professional wordsmith. So it’s one of those “do not try this at home” things. LOL

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  2. I don’t see why you can’t use the penne. The bucatini is a long, thin, hollow spaghetti.

    OMG, don’t say the word “Velveeta”. It was my mama’s favorite when I was growing up. I have no idea what kasseri is either. It doesn’t matter. We didn’t have it available, so I went with the cheddar and Romano.

    If you Google it, Martha Stewart makes a pastitsio with lamb, which is probably closer to authentic. I make this because it’s a little on the lighter side. I’ve been known to use 1% milk on occasion. Horrors! Still tasty.

    Well, you’re welcome in the GWN anytime, sweetie.

    Just getting ready to make the Eggnog Bread from your blog. Waiting on the egg. Story of my life. 😀

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  3. I’ve always had it with ground beef, so I think I’d like yours better. And I prefer my lamb simply broiled. With a butter, ground country mustard, thyme topping I picked up somewhere along the way. Probably from Martha.

    Who, btw, doesn’t have to wait for eggs. Because she has her own chickens. You might give that some thought. Gracie Allen would probably enjoy some little feathered friends.

    Jay got me a subscription to her magazine for Christmas one year because he noticed it wasn’t coming anymore. Little did he know that I’d let it expire on purpose, because the woman was making me flat out insane. She’s an enabler to my perfectionist streak. Though, I have to admit her candles, which are on my tree, are one of my favorite things. Like your tin tinsel. Very different. Very Victorian.

    Did I ever tell you how I came to write Southern Comforts, otherwise known around our house and Mira as the MARTHA STEWART MUST DIE!!!! book?

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  4. I meant I was waiting on the egg to come to room temp. lol Nobody is going out for an egg today. OMG. Snowmageddon for sure.

    Candles? My nose is twitching.

    I think the Southern Comforts story is worthy of a blog. Hint, hint.

    I’m with you on the lamb, and I’m beginning to starve talking about all this food.

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  5. This is my step-grandma’s recipe for sugar cookies. They’re the only sugar cookies I grew up with, and absolutely everything else is an abomination.

    Sorry that the directions aren’t so detailed. I typed them up for myself some time ago. Nothing too complicated, though.

    Judy’s Sugar Cookies
    1-3/4 cup sugar
    1 tsp. baking soda
    2 tsp. baking powder
    2 eggs
    1 cup buttermilk (or put 1 tblsp. vinegar in cup and fill with milk)
    1 tsp. vanilla
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1 cup crisco
    4 rounded cups flour
    nutmeg – sprinkle a little over the dough, mix and sprinkle again   Chill overnight.  Roll out on floured surface. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375-400 degrees

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  6. Sarah – I’ve never seen a sugar cookie recipe with buttermilk before. I’m definitely going to be trying these, if not this year then next. I’m assuming you’re combining all the wet ingredients and then incorporating the dry. Do you decorate or ice them at all? How many cookies does it yield? Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. lolz

    Much cheer.

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  7. Wet ingredients then dry is the ‘right’ way to do it, but honestly, I’ve just worked my way down the list and had them turn out just fine, so I think they’re pretty foolproof!

    You can either frost them when they’re cool (and decorate to your heart’s content, if so desired) or just sprinkle them with sugar before you bake them. I like them both ways, Matt and my Papa prefer them with just sugar.

    I think the recipe will yield about 3-4 dozen, depending on thickness and shape. However many it yields, I usually end up making more than one batch, because we’ll give some away, friends will come over, and then they’ll have mysteriously disappeared.

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