Greek Pastitsio

Ingredients

• 1 packet (500 grs.) of tubular spaghetti No. 3 or No. 6
• 1 cup of grated graviera or myzithra cheese

For filling

• ½ kilo ground beef
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 bunch of parsley finely chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes peeled and blended together with garlic (or 1 can 500 grams of whole tomatoes, blended)
  
• ½ cup of dry white wine
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• oregano
• Ground allspice
• Cumin

Ingredients for the Bechamel sauce

• 3 spoonfuls of ARISTON BUTTER
• 6 spoonfuls of flour
• 5 cups of warm milk
• Salt
• 2 or 3 eggs
• a pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Preparing the ground meat:

Sauté the onion and add ground meat. Add wine and stir until it evaporates and add salt, pepper, cumin, allspice, oregano and tomatoes. Simmer until it is cooked and most of the juices evaporate, add parsley stir and remove from the heat.

Preparing the béchamel sauce:

In a sauce pan heat butter, add flour and stir until slightly browned. Add salt and nutmeg.

Add warm milk stirring continuously until a thick cream is made and remove from heat.

Beat eggs and add a spoonful at a time stirring until absorbed. Continue until eggs are absorbed.

Add half the cheese (reserving the remaining to sprinkle in pasta and on top). See step to step pictures here.

Preparing the pasta

Boil water and add salt and a spoonful of olive oil. Boil pasta al dente and remove from heat. Place in cold water and then strain. Mix some of the cheese in the pasta.

In a baking tin add half pasta and dilute 3 spoonfuls of béchamel cream with some milk to make a thinner cream and add to pasta and mix. If we do not add the cream our pasta will not stick together but will spread in the plate during serving.

Put the ground meat on top and add remaining pasta. Sprinkle some grated cheese and nutmeg.

Add béchamel sauce to cover pasta. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 180^ο C for 45 minutes or until a golden brown.