There are three layers to a true pasticcio — pasta tossed in feta, meat sauce, and béchamel.
To make life easier, I’ve combined the pasta and meat sauce.
If you want to go the extra mile, lay the pasta neatly in the base of the dish so that you have a wall of rigatoni holes when you cut it.
You can also add a couple of hundred ml of white wine before you add the tin tomatoes.
Ingredients
500g Rigatoni pasta
Meat Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled & diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
Cheesy Béchamel Sauce
1 lt milk
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
1 clove garlic, peeled
60g butter
60g plain flour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Kefalograviera cheese
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Method for Meat Sauce
Heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat.
Add onion, salt, and sauté for 2 mins. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add beef mince and cook, breaking it up as you cook, until it’s dark and flavourful.
Add tomato puree and cook, stirring for about 2 mins to cook off the rawness of the puree.
Add tin tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaves. Cook over low heat for around 30 mins.
Method for Cheesy Béchamel Sauce
Place milk, bay, and garlic in a small saucepan and gently simmer.
Remove from the heat and discard garlic, peppercorns and bay.
Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat.
Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, for around 3 mins.
Slowly whisk the milk into the flour and butter. Cook for about 5 mins.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheeses, cayenne, and the salt and pepper until it’s smooth.
———
Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni as per pack directions in salted boiling water.
Drain and mix through the meat sauce.
Place pasta in a large deep baking dish and top with cheesy béchamel sauce.
Bake in 180 °C oven for 20 mins or until the top is golden.
