Pastisto

Ingredients

For the Tomato Meat Sauce:

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• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound lean ground lamb
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 large cloves)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Bechamel:

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• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan or Kasseri cheese
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup Greek-style yogurt, such as Fage Total
• 3/4 pound small shells

 Heat 3 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat.  Saute onions for 5 minutes.

Brown ground meat for 8 to 10 minutes.  I used ground beef and Italian sausage.

Add the red wine and simmer for 2 more minutes.

Add garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme and red pepper.  Continue cooking for 5 minutes.

 Add crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 45 minutes until it looks like this:

Now let cool and begin on the bechamel.

Heat the milk and cream to a simmer.  Now melt butter and add flour.  Cook for around 2 minutes til it forms a light bronw roux.

Add cream mixture and simer until thickened. so that it coats the back of a spoon.  Remember to whisk occasionally to keep from clumping.

Add nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Stir in Parmesan cheese and add 1/2 cup meat sauce.  Let cool and then add in eggs and yogurt.

Mix meat sauce with cooked pasta and pour into 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Spread the bechamel over the meat sauce and pasta.  Then sprinkle with additional cheese.  In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake for around 45 minutes.