Pastiticio

There are so many different varieties of this dish and this is my version. Enjoy on a cold winters night with family and friends. I particularly love the taste of the bechamel sauce on top of this dish. And this is another one of my brother's favourite dishes.

Meat Sauce (Bolognaise Sauce)

2 tab Olive Oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
500 mince beef
360ml passata (tomato puree)
1 cup water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large fry pan and sauté onion until soft, add garlic and continue to fry for a minute or so. Add the mince beef and press mince with a fork to flatten and separate, fry until brown all over. While mince is cooking, in a medium saucepan add passata and water, and cook with lid on. Once mince is browned, add this to passata in saucepan and cook (no lid) on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit with lid on until you cook the pasta.

Pasta

600g tube penne (no lines)
Salt to add to boiling water
Olive oil

Fill large saucepan with water and allow to come to the boil, add salt and cook pasta until cooked. Strain pasta and drizzle olive oil to coat to avoid pasta sticking together.

Brush a large oven dish with olive oil. Pour ½ of the cook pasta on bottom of dish, pour all the bolognaise sauce over the pasta and then top with the other ½ of pasta.

Béchamel Sauce

60g butter
4 tab lain flour
2 cups Milk (full cream)
1 egg
Salt and Pepper
Grated tasty cheese and Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and then add flour, stir continuously for 1 minute allowing the mixture to bubble and mix thoroughly together. Slowly add milk stirring continuously with a balloon whisk until all milk is added. Add salt and pepper and continue stirring until mixture boils and thickens. This should take about 10 minutes. Once thick and smooth remove from heat and add the egg, give another good stir with balloon whisk. Pour and smooth this mixture immediately over the top layer of pasta, ensuring you cover the entire top. Allow the béchamel to cool slightly before grating the tasty cheese directly over the top of the béchamel sauce to cover, then sprinkle also with parmesan cheese. (At this stage you might like to cover with foil allow to cool slightly and place in the fridge for baking later.) Bake straight away in preheated oven at 180oC, no foil for 50mins to 1 hour or until golden. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Yummy Yum !!