Pastitsio

Main

Ingredients

• For the white sauce
• 100g butter
• 6 tablespoon plain flour
• 6 cups full cream milk
• 3 eggs
• Sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese
• or grated halloumi (optional)
• For the pastitsio
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large brown onion, diced
• 500g beef mince
• 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
• 500g Misko pasta No.2 (if you can’t find
• this, try and use thick spaghetti)
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated halloumi (optional)
• For the white sauce

Method

1. Melt butter in a medium-sized pot over low heat
2. Once melted, turn off the heat and sieve the flour into the pot and stir until there are no lumps left, then gradually stir it into the butter
3. Stir in half the milk bit by bit until the flour is dissolved
4. Return the pot to heat and stir in the remainder of the milk, bit by bit
5. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then stir the eggs in one by one until mixed through
6. Add a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese or grated halloumi For the pastitsio
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees on bake
8. Heat canola oil over a medium high heat in a large pan and add onions, cooking until softened
9. Add beef mince to the pan and cook until browned, leaving a little bit of moisture in the pan
10. Add dried mint leaves, dried parsley, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, salt and cracked pepper and stir through
11. Boil a large pot of salted water and add the pasta. Cook as per packet instructions
12. When the noodles are cooked, strain them and then split in half into 2 bowls
13. In a large, deep baking dish, evenly spread out 1 bowl of noodles, placing them so that they are facing the same direction. Spread the mince mixture over top and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese
14. Place the second bowl of noodles facing in the same direction over the mince and then sprinkle over more grated parmesan. You can also add extra grated halloumi for a more cheesy outcome
15. Evenly pour the white sauce over everything
16. Sprinkle over a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
17. Place the dish into the oven on the lowest rack for 30 minutes
18. Move the dish to the top rack and let the cheese get crispy for the final 10 minutes (make sure to keep an eye on the Pastitsio at this point – it can crisp up very quickly)