Greek Lasagna Food

PASTITSIO - GREEK LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook pasta and drain.
• While pasta is cooking, brown meat in heavy skillet, add onion and garlic and cook until soft.
• Mix in cinnamon and tomato sauce.
• In a saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisk in milk and simmer 20 minutes.
• Add beaten eggs and 1/4 cup parmesan to white sauce.
• In a buttered two quart casserole dish, add half pasta, top with meat mixture, add the rest of the pasta.
• Pour white sauce over the top.
• Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.
• Bake 60 minutes.

PASTITSIO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in the pot
• Saute the onions and garlic
• Add the tomatoes, herbs, spices and salt and pepper and stir well
• Simmer until aromatic and thickened
• Turn off the heat
• Boil the pasta in saltwater until just cooked and drain
• Beat the two egg whites and add to the pasta along with the cheese and stir
• For the Bechamel, melt the butter in another pot or saucepan
• Add the flour and stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until a smooth paste
• Gradually pour in the milk and whisk over heat until a thick creamy sauce is achieved
• Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg
• Add the eggs and 1/2 cup of cheese stirring constantly
• In a large, deep pan arrange half the pasta evenly inside
• Cover with the meat sauce
• Cover with the rest of the pasta
• Cover with the Bechamel sauce and garnish with the rest of the cheese
• Bake for approximately 1 hour or until Golden Brown

GREEK PASTITSIO RECIPE (GREEK LASAGNA WITH BéCHAMEL)

Steps:

• To prepare this traditional pastitsio recipe (pastichio), start with the meat sauce. Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, the chopped onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and the beef. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and brown for 4-5 minutes. Pour in the red wine and wait to evaporate. Add the canned tomatoes, the sugar, cinnamon, clove, the bay leaf and season. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes, until most of the juices have evaporated. (After the meat is cooked, discard the bay leaf, the clove and the cinnamon)
• Prepare the bechamel sauce for the pastitsio. Melt the butter in a large pan over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in small batches, whisking continuously in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat whilst continuing to stir. Remove the pan from the stove and add the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the grated cheese (50g/ 1.7oz.). Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Season with salt to taste.
• Cook the pasta for the pastitsio 2-3 minutes less than the package instructions, so that they don't get mushy after turning out of the oven later. Drain the pasta and stir in the egg whites and the feta cheese (smashed with a fork) and mix gently with a spatula.
• For this pastitsio recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 25*35 cm / 10*14 inch. Butter the bottom and sides of a pan and assemble the pastitsio. Layer the pasta, top with the meat sauce and even out. Top the pastitsio with the bechamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
• Sprinkle the pastichio with grated cheese and bake in preheated oven at 180C (350F) Fan for about 40 minutes, until crust turns a light golden brown. Let the pastitsio cool down for a while before serving.

GREEK LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook lasagne according to package directions; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Warm oil in a large saucepan over low heat.
• Add onion, garlic and eggplant. Cover and let vegetables cook until very soft, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the Ricotta, Feta and yogurt.
• When vegetables are done, stir in tomato sauce. Remove from heat and set aside 1 cup of eggplant mixture.
• In a 9 × 13 × 2-inch baking dish, spread a little of the eggplant mixture over the bottom and cover with 3 pieces of lasagne. Spoon some of the Ricotta over the lasagne. Continue to layer with eggplant mixture, lasagne, and Ricotta. Place a layer of lasagne on top. Spread the reserved eggplant over lasagne and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, until cheese is brown.

MOM'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a three-finger pinch of salt and sweat them until they're translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the neck bones and let them brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ground veal, beef and sausage, and season with another healthy pinch of salt. Cook until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the white wine, tomatoes and their juice, and the bay leaves. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, making sure to get all of the browned bits into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, and simmer for 2 hours over medium heat. Remove the bay leaves and neck bones and let cool. Skim any fat that rises to the surface.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add enough salt so that it tastes seasoned and allow the water to return to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
• In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, parsley, basil, oregano, eggs, and Parmesan with a pinch of salt.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Ladle about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a lasagna pan. Arrange a layer of noodles followed by a layer of sauce and then some of the ricotta mixture. Top with a layer of mozzarella, smoothing it with a spatula to the edges. Repeat the process until the pan is full. Finish with a final layer of noodles, sauce, the mozzarella, and Parmesan.
• Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest, 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

GREEK LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni noodles, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until beef is evenly browned. Remove from heat, and drain grease. Stir in the tomatoes, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and cinnamon. Mix in pasta, and transfer to a large baking dish.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the milk and cornstarch until no lumps remain. Add butter, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat, and pour the sauce over the mixture in the baking dish.
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, until the top is golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

GREEK CHICKEN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease a deep dish 13 by 9" casserole dish. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute' the garlic just until fragrant. Stir in the flour until it foams. Whisk in the milk and stir until mixture thickens into a white sauce. Mix in the chicken, oregano and pepper flakes and salt.
• Spoon 1 to cups of white sauce into the casserole. Layer 4 noodles on top. Spread 1/2 of each cheese over the noodles. Spread all of the greens on top. Add another 1-2 cups sauce , 1/3 of noodles and the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the black olives evenly over the cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes just before serving.

GREEK LASAGNA-VEGETARIAN

Steps:

• In a saucepan, warm the olive oil briefly on medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions have begun to release their juices. Stir in the garlic and marjoram and saute until the onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, cover, and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat to medium low, just enough to maintain a simmer. Add the olives, salt, and pepper. Add the dill just before assembling lasagna for best flavor.
• Preheat oven to 400*F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet.
• While the sauce gently simmers, lay the eggplant rounds on baking sheet. Brush them with olive oil. Bake, uncovered for about 15 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the oven and reduce the heat to 350*F.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, fennel, and 1 cup of the feta cheese together and set aside.
• Lightly oil a 8"x10"x3" casserole dish. Evenly spread 2 cups of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of noodles and cover with 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Next, layer all of the eggplant rounds, 1 cup of the feta cheese, a second layer of noodles, and another cup of the sauce. Finish with all of the egg and cottage cheese mixture, a third layer of noodles, the rest of the sauce, and the remaining cup of feta cheese.
• Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover the lasagna, and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

FAST & EASY SPINACH/GREEK YOGURT LOW-FAT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• In medium saucepan heat up vegetable broth.
• Add Greek yogurt and half the cheese to the hot broth.
• Add spinach gradually to the yogurt/broth mixture. Set aside.
• Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 13X9 inch baking dish. Spread a small amount of pasta sauce on bottom of dish.
• Add a layer of noodles.
• Spread sauce on top of noodles.
• Add a layer of 1/3 of the spinach/yogurt/cheese broth.
• Sprinkle with 1/3 of remaining cheese.
• Repeat previous 3 directions twice more.
• Bake for 30 minutes covered, then 10-15 minutes uncovered.
• Let stand at least 10-15 minutes before serving.