If you were to ask me what is my very favorite meal, I would have to say Pastitsio. The Greek dish is the ultimate comfort food. Two layers of cheesy macaroni with a layer of savory spiced lamb, all topped with a nice fat layer of bechemel. Every time I go to a Greek restaurant, this is what I order.
Although I love this dish, I've never attempted to make it myself. I knew there would be a lot of work involved, and I wasn't at all sure I could replicate this dish to my satisfaction. While looking for new recipes to try, I found this recipe for Pastitsio and decided to give it a shot. Biscuit's been under the weather this week, so I felt like he deserved a special treat.
I cut the recipe in half, and made the following substitutions. The market didn't have ground lamb this week, so I used lean ground beef instead. We also didn't have any white wine, so I doubled the amount of tomato sauce. I will admit I was still skeptical that this would compare with my memory of this dish.
I am now in a food coma. Even with the substitutions, this came out almost *exactly* as I remember. Biscuit commented that it's one of the only times he has minded cinnamon in a meat dish. (There is a small amount in the meat filling, and it isn't optional, in my opinion.) He said he'd like me to put into our regular meal rotation, but considering the caloric/fat count of this meal, not to mention the time it spends to make, it will be a sometimes food.
Hands down, this was fantastic.
looks wonderful
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