One-pan pastitsio
Georgia Hayden has taken the comforting-but-complex Greek dish of pastitsio and transformed it into this delicious, one-pot pasta dish. It has all the richness and charm of the original, but with much less clean up!
Recipe taken from Greekish: Everyday Recipes with Greek Roots by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury, £26 Hardback) Photography © Laura Edwards
When I started writing this book, I set myself a challenge: to make much-loved Greek dishes more achievable. To be fair, a lot of our recipes are pretty straightforward, but one request that came up time and again is pastitsio (or as Cypriots call it, makaronia tou fournou). Pastitsio isn’t particularly tricky, but it is laborious. There’s the slow-cooked ragu, the cooked pasta, and then a béchamel. How can we strip this back? By making the whole thing using only one pan. You read that right. One. Pan. Ragu, pasta and sauce. Of course, it’s not the same as classic pastitsio in terms of layers and drama. But I think it has its own dramatic appeal; the whole thing is cooked in a large frying pan and that looks pretty epic.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- olive oil
- 500g of beef mince, or beef with some pork
- salt and pepper
- 2 brown onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano, plus a pinch
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 250g of pastitsio pasta, bucatini or even penne (gluten-free if needed)
- 1l beef stock
- 300ml of crème fraîche
- 2 egg yolks
- 100g of graviera, kefalotyri or pecorino
Method
You’ll need a wide, deep frying pan for this dish. If you don’t have one you confidently think will fit all the ingredients then make it in a large saucepan. Place your pan on a high heat and drizzle in a good few tablespoons of olive oil
- olive oil
Add the mince to the pan, and break it up well with a wooden spoon. Season generously, and fry for 5–8 minutes, so that any liquid evaporates and the mince starts to crisp up
- 500g of beef mince, or beef with some pork
- salt and pepper
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onions and garlic
When the mince has started to brown, stir them in with the oregano and cinnamon. Fry for a further 5 minutes, reducing the heat a little, stirring everything together (add a touch of extra olive oil if it looks dry)
- 1 tsp dried oregano, plus a pinch
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Stir in the tomato purée, fry off for a minute or two, then add the pasta to the pan. If you are using traditional pastitsio pasta or bucatini you may need to snap some of the pieces in half to fit them all in. It’ll be snug in the pan, but try to fit them all. Pour over the beef stock, season and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 250g of pastitsio pasta, bucatini or even penne (gluten-free if needed)
- 1l beef stock
While the pasta is cooking, mix together the crème fraîche and egg yolks
- 300ml of crème fraîche
- 2 egg yolks
Finely grate the cheese and stir in most of it with a generous pinch of salt and pepper
- 100g of graviera, kefalotyri or pecorino
When your pasta is ready, turn your grill to high. Gently toss the pasta and sauce in the pan together, trying not to disturb it too much. Spoon the crème fraîche mixture over the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, plus an additional pinch of dried oregano
Place under the grill, not too close to the bars, and grill for 3–5 minutes, until golden and bubbling on top. Keep an eye on it as how long it takes will depend on the strength of your grill. Remove and leave to stand for at least 5–10 minutes before serving
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