Pastitsio/Macaroni Bechamel
Pastitsio is a fantastic and delicious Greek/Mediterranean baked pasta dish which includes a meat sauce and béchamel sauce. It is a version of the Italian dish pasticcio di pasta, also known as lasagne al forno.The Egyptian name for this dish is Macaroni Bechamel.
Ingredients
- 400 gm beef mince
- 2 small onions chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup beef broth or water
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5 tomatoes blended
- 2 green chillies
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
Ingredients for the Béchamel Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk at room temperature
- 1/3 cup yoghurt
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese like parmesan or mozzarella
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- pinch of nutmeg optional
- 1/4 cup of the meat sauce that you will be preparing
Ingredients for Macaroni
- 250 gm thin tube short pasta like penne or anything similar
- water for boiling
- oil
- salt
aslmwk. wat if i dont bake it? just cook it up on stove?
W/Salaam, it won’t turn out the exact same, but you can try.
slms in the recipe you said we have to add bay leaves.now i wanted to knw that after sauce is cooked should we discard the bayleaf ?
W/Salaam, you can discard or just leave them in there to continue infusing their flavour into the dish.
Can we leave out Parmesan cheese or anything else??
You can use any cheese that you prefer, like mozzarella.
I meant or use some other cheese??
Does it work if I make it with chicken?
Yes you can use chicken.
Aoa, Jazakallah for this
Aoa, Jazakallah for this yummy recepie….I made it yesterday n taste was great but when I cut a slice n placed on plate it couldn’t hold itself…. Macroni layer and bechamel sauce layer separated. Bechamel sauce with topping of cheese was intact but macroni n mince sauce couldn’t stand…. I thought it would be like a slice of pizza where every thing is in place…. Is this is normal or I made any mistake… Hope u understand my question. Kindly help me…. Lots of best wishes for u:)
W/Salaam, yes that is
W/Salaam, yes that is normally it will not hold very solid as it is a saucy mixture in there. Also, after baking if you allow it to cool before slicing it will be a little easier to handle.
Ok thanks n Jazakallah.
Ok thanks n Jazakallah.
Salam Fauzia
Salam Fauzia
For the sauce, is there anything else I can use instead of cheese because of lactose intolerance 🙁
Thanks
W/Salaam, you can leave out
W/Salaam, you can leave out the cheese, the white sauce will be enough. 🙂
Thank you so much Fauzia,
Thank you so much Fauzia, will try over the weekend InshaAllah 😀
Salams fsuziya… Can I du
Salams fsuziya… Can I du this without shreded cheese… Bcz cheese is not good for my migraine
W/Salaam, you can although
W/Salaam, you can although cheese is an important part of the overall flavour of the dish. Without it the dish will not taste as good.
Salam can we use chicken
Salam can we use chicken broth if we are using chicken instead of beef?
W/Salaam, yes definitely.
W/Salaam, yes definitely.
What if we omit yogurt from
What if we omit yogurt from the sauce? Most traditional pastitsio recipes don’t use yogurt. And for the mince, do we have to cook mince this way as directed by recipe or can we brown the mince any way we like and follow rest of recipe?
You can omit the yoghurt if
You can omit the yoghurt if you like, it adds a nice creaminess to the dish. Best to make the mince as per the recipe. But cooking is a lot about experimenting, so if you want to dry it and use then by all means go ahead. 🙂
Salam. Tried this today. The
Salam. Tried this today. The result was good but there was a little problem with my white sauce. It got a little runny after the addition of yogurt and egg so I put it on heat for some time to thicken it a little. To my dismay, it slightly left water and coagulated a bit… Just a bit… Not really a disaster but yes… Thought I should ask. Can you help please Is it supposed to be runny and strictly NO Heating once one has added yogurt and egg?
Overall, the taste was good. Plan to make it again, Inshallah!
W/Salaam, thanks. It should
W/Salaam, thanks. It should not be very runny unless the yoghurt was very watery? In which case always try and drain off excess water from the yoghurt so that it is thick. And I believe what happened is the egg got scrambled in the mixture, Do not put it on the heat next time, just use it in the recipe and the excess moisture will get absorbed by the pasta as it bakes.
I tried this yesterday for
I tried this yesterday for Iftar. It turned out amazing! Very creamy and scrumptious! Great recipe!
sister can i replace the
sister can i replace the macaroni with spaghetti?
Yes you can.
Yes you can.
Assalamu alaikum..i love ur
Assalamu alaikum..i love ur cooking! jazakillahu khaira 4 wonderful recipes.
wich typ of milk did u usd here???can i use full cream milk powder???
W/Salaam, I use liquid milk,
W/Salaam, I use liquid milk, either whole milk or semi-skimmed.
Assalamu alaikum! Can i use
Assalamu alaikum! Can i use curd instead of youghurt??if can how much should i use ??
W/Salaam, yes you can…just
W/Salaam, yes you can…just make sure it is fresh. Same amount.