Pastichio

This is an old recipe I learned from my mom (with minor modifications) and one of my favourite dishes. I’m posting it now, since this is what I made tonight. It takes some time to make, but you can prepare it and put it in the freezer until you need to bake it with no loss of quality. After baking, it’s best to leave it stand for about an hour before serving.

Ingredients

• Rigatoni (enough to make one layer in a large baking dish)
• Stock cubes
• 4 eggs
• 750 g minced meat (beef or pork or mixed)
• 1 large onion
• 4–5 mushrooms
• Parsley
• Plain flour
• Milk
• Halloumi

Directions

Pastichio has three layers: pasta at the bottom, meat in the middle and béchamel cream at the top. For a vegetarian version, you can replace the meat with more mushrooms and other vegetables like soy.

First layer: pasta

Put a couple of stock cubes in boiling water and cook the rigatoni according to the instructions on the box. Beat 1.5 eggs and mix them with the pasta once it has cooled down. Lay the pasta in the baking dish. The first layer is ready.

Second layer: meat

Fry the minced meat, then add a finely chopped onion and sliced mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. The vegetables should go soft and the meat should be cooked without becoming crispy brown. Adding a bit of water and letting it evaporate may help, though it’s usually not necessary. At the end, add some chopped parsley. Beat 1.5 eggs and mix them with the meat once it has cooled down. Spread this layer on top of the pasta.

Béchamel cream

Heat plenty of milk (about 1.5 pints) in the microwave or on the stove while preparing everything else. In a large, deep pot, heat some oil and add about 4 full tablespoons of flour. Mix well and fry until smooth and dark golden. Crumble in one stock cube and mix thoroughly.

Add the hot milk slowly to the flour mixture while stirring vigorously to prevent lumps. Keep stirring until the cream is smooth. The more milk you add, the lighter and juicier the pastichio will be, but it should not be too thin (it thickens as it stands). Remove from the heat, grate in halloumi to taste, then beat one egg and mix it in once the cream has cooled. Pour the cream over the meat layer.

Baking and storage

At this point, you can cover the dish and freeze it for later. To bake, heat the oven to about 480 K (Gas 6–7) and bake for around 45 minutes, until the top turns dark yellow to brown. Let it stand for about an hour before serving.