I have an uncle from Greece. He taught my aunt how to make authentic Greek dishes. This is a classic dish made with ground lamb, which I have substituted with tempeh. A delicious dish, kind of like a Greek Lasagna.
The "Meat" Sauce
1-8oz. pkg. organic tempeh, crumbled
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 -28 oz. can diced tomatoes (or ¼ cup tomato paste diluted in 1-1/4cups of water)
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt and pepper to taste
The Pasta
1 lb. of Greek No.2 pasta (or Bucatini, or Ziti)
2 Tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil
3 egg whites, beaten (the yolks will be used in the béchamel sauce)
1/4 cup grated Kefalotyri (or Parmesan cheese if you try but cannot find the Greek cheese)
The Béchamel Sauce
4 cups of scalded milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated Kefalotyri (or Parmesan cheese if you really cannot find the Greek cheese)
1/3 cup of salted butter
3 egg yolks, well beaten 1-2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste
Assembly:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the diced onion(s) over a medium heat until soft. Add the tempeh, rosemary, garlic, wine, and tomatoes to the pan along with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Bring to a boil, add the bay leaves and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with its lid leaving it only slightly uncovered to allow the excess water to evaporate as steam. Simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Stir the sauce occasionally. Remove the bay leaves and set aside when done.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta to the water and parboil it until soft but not fully cooked (about 3/4 of the suggested cooking time on the package).
While the pasta is cooking, make the béchamel sauce. Start by melting the butter in a deep saucepan over a medium heat, then add flour to make a rue. Once the flour has been fully incorporated, slowly add the hot milk while continuing to constantly stir the butter and flour paste to ensure a smooth consistency. Once the milk has been added, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the grated cheese, nutmeg, pepper and egg yolks in that order while continuing to rapidly stir the mixture. Set aside when smooth and well-mixed. However, do not let it stand for too long without a good stirring as you do not want the top to start congealing.
Drain the water completely from the pasta pot and return pot with pasta to the heat, add the two tablespoons of olive oil to the pasta and mix well. Remove the pot from the heat, let stand for a few minutes to cool and then add the egg whites to the pasta, along with the ¼ cup of grated Kefalotyri cheese and mix well, then set aside momentarily.
Rub a little olive into the sides and bottom of your baking dish, and then add about two-thirds of the pasta to the dish to form a bottom layer.
Spread the meat sauce overtop of the bottom pasta layer. Add the remaining pasta overtop of the meat layer. Pour the béchamel sauce over of the final pasta layer. Place the pastitsio uncovered in an oven pre-heated to 350°F and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the béchamel sauce is golden brown.
Remove the pastitsio from oven and set aside to cool before serving. This dish is best served on the following day after its baking. However, if you must eat it on the same day, make sure it has a chance to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting it into pieces.
