I have found wonderful recipes for the famous Greek dish Pastitsio, each is delightful. This became a big favorite of my wife Laura’s while in Greece and I have been tweaking it to get just the right reaction from her. For a woman like her, love is pasta and sauce. The sauce is also wonderful but can very depending on where in the Mediterranean you are savoring this dish.
The Greeks refer to their sauce as a Béchamel Sauce … but it is not… because, technically, with the addition of cheese it becomes a ‘Mornay Sauce.” Here’s a fun story I wrote about Béchamel Sauce and can be found under my recipe for Lobster Thermador.
Béchamel Sauce
Béchamel Sauce is considered to be one of the 5 ‘mother sauces’ from which most French sauces originate. Milk is added to a white roux.
Named after a wealthy financier of Louis the 14th the Marquis de Nointel Louis de Béchamel, probably by the court chef in his honor. It is clear that this sauce had been used long before as quoted in the Larousse Gastronomique:
“The old Duke d’Escars said:’ that fellow Béchamel has all the luck. I was serving breast of chicken al la creme twenty years before he was born, yet, as you can see, I have never yet had a chance of giving my name to the most insignificant of sauces!”
Noodles!
I wanted a Greek Macaroni and found Misko #2 Pastichio Macaroni which I think will add the necessary authenticity and fun, I hope Laura likes enjoying this a lot as I had to buy a case of it! Some will substitute with a penne pasta… but my resident consumer of pasta ( Laura) says this is not acceptable.
the ‘Béchamel’ Sauce
Finding the right Greek Cheese was challenging, but with a little searching I found an American importer of Kefalortiri… a remarkable cheese. Many chefs substitute Parmesan or even Romano, but if you can find the original it is worth it… at least it is to me.
the Meat Sauce
There are many preferences for the types of meat used. Lamb and Beef are very popular and pork is commonly used in Cyprus.Personally, I am thinking that a combination of lamb and pork would make it very tender… and very delicious. The spices very as much fro place to place in the meat sauce as it does in the Béchamel sauce… where some add a zing like flaked red peppers or stay with the milder dill and parsley, for example.
Delightful Variations
Although this dish had it’s name and origins in Italy, this has become a quintessential Greek cuisine. Recipes may call for onions ( as in Egypt) or mint (Cyprus) or hard boiled eggs (Malta)… but the essence stays the same. Oh yes, then there are those who add wine!
So now I wait…. for more cheese (Kefalotiri ) and noodles to arrive! Make it for her!