Pastitsio

Name: Pastitsio
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 3/4 teaspoon, table salt; 1/4 teaspoon, baking soda; 1 tablespoon plus ½ cup, water, divided; 8 ounces, 93 percent lean ground beef; 1 tablespoon, vegetable oil; 1/2 cup, finely chopped onion; 3 , garlic cloves, minced; 1 1/4 teaspoons, ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon, dried oregano; 1 teaspoon, dried mint; 1 teaspoon, paprika; 1/8 teaspoon, red pepper flakes; 1/8 teaspoon, pepper; 1/4 cup, red wine; 1/3 cup, tomato paste; 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons, all-purpose flour; 1 , garlic clove, minced; 1/2 teaspoon, table salt; 1/4 teaspoon, grated nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon, pepper; 4 cups, whole milk; 8 ounces (2½ cups), ziti; 4 ounces, kasseri cheese, shredded (1 cup), divided; 1 , large egg, lightly beaten

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By Andrew Janjigian

Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 2019, America's Test Kitchen TV

A triple-decker composition of tubular pasta, spiced meat sauce, and lush béchamel, Greek pastitsio is king among casseroles—and often a royal pain.

SERVES6

TIME2½ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

In the best renditions of this Greek meat and macaroni casserole, the components—tubular pasta, ground meat and tomato sauce, and a plush blanket of bechamel—are impressively stratified. We started by treating ground beef with baking soda b...

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