A couple of months ago, I tried out a pastitsio recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Casseroles. Looking at the index, I realized the cookbook had a different recipe for pastitsio 60 pages earlier. That’s my one gripe about the cookbook; it doesn’t group similar recipes very well. There’s five or six mac and cheese recipes scattered throughout. Why not put them all together? Anyhow, the other pastitsio recipe had fewer pre-made ingredients, so I decided I would try it. It’s better.
The following is my attempt.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large onion
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup sherry
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 4 eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup shredded Romano cheese
- Chop onion
- Cook beef and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender
- Drain
- Add tomato sauce, sherry, and cinnamon to meat and onions
- Heat until bubbling
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes
- Cook penne pasta according to directions
- Lightly beat 2 eggs
- Toss cooked pasta with eggs and 2 tablespoons of butter
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat
- Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth
- Add milk (slowly)
- Cook until mixture is thick
- Lightly beat 2 eggs
- Stir mixture into the eggs
- (make sure meat, pasta, and sauce are all finished)
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Grease a 3 quart casserole dish
- Spread half the pasta in dish
- Spread half the meat sauce over the pasta
- Spread 1/3 of the cheese over the pasta
- Spread remaining pasta on top of cheese
- Spread remaining meat sauce over the pasta
- Spread 1/3 of the cheese over the pasta
- Pour white sauce evenly over cheese
- Spread remaining cheese on top
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes
- Remove cover and bake for additional 15 minutes
- Let stand for 15 minutes to cool and set
