Pastitsio (Greek Cinnamon Beef Macaroni Bechamel Bake)

Name: Pastitsio (Greek Cinnamon Beef Macaroni Bechamel Bake)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: macaroni 250 g; ground beef 300 g; onion 120 g; tomato sauce 250 ml; milk 400 ml; butter 2 tbsp; all-purpose flour 2 tbsp; ground cinnamon 0.5 tsp; parmesan 40 g

Quick answer

Total time: 70 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 9

About this dish

Cut a square of pastitsio and three layers should show clearly: macaroni, a cinnamon-scented beef sauce, and a thick cap of bechamel.

Each layer has its own way to fail. Macaroni boiled fully soft keeps softening in the oven, and a beef sauce with liquid pooling underneath soaks the pasta below it. The 15-minute rest after baking lets sauce and pasta set, so a knife pressed straight down leaves all three layers clean.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Cook 250 g macaroni in boiling water until slightly firmer than al dente, because it will soften further in the oven.

Drain well and spread it out so the tubes do not clump while the sauce is prepared.
2

Warm a pan over medium heat and cook 120 g onion first until it turns translucent.

Add 300 g ground beef, break up the clumps with a spoon, and brown it until no raw red patches remain.
3

Stir in 250 ml tomato sauce and 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 12 minutes.

Stop when the sauce thickens and no loose liquid pools on the bottom of the pan.
4

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan, add 2 tbsp flour, and cook over low heat for about 1 minute so the raw flour taste fades.

Whisk in 400 ml milk gradually until thick but still pourable.
5

Spread the macaroni in the baking dish and scatter on part of the 40 g parmesan so it seasons the pasta layer.

Spoon the beef sauce evenly over it, pour the bechamel on top, and finish with the remaining parmesan.
6

Bake at 190C for 30 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges bubble gently.

Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing, then cut with a steady downward motion so the layers stay neat.