Chrissy Teigen’s Mac and Cheese with Garlic Parmesan Breadcrumbs, from Cravings. Cheeses are Cheddar, American, and Gruyere Jarlsberg. White sauce base, jazzed up with black pepper and cayenne. I also added a couple dashes of Worcestershire. One of our favorites!
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Budget Pasta Bake - Ziti, Kielbasa, Colby Jack Cheese and my experimental Bechamel sauce which was made with Butter Flavor Crisco as the fat. It actually turned out pretty good.
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Nominations for next quarter are now live: Spring 2025 (Apr-Jun) Dish of the Quarter - NOMINATIONS
Forgot to report my first Pastitsio attempt here.
I used spiced kheema for the sauce, macaroni for the pasta, and a thick bechamel to top.
I had planned to bake it fresh twice, so only made enough bechamel for half, but then got distracted while I was assembling, and used all the pasta, so the bechamel layer was a bit thin.
Tasted very nice, I’d make this again with a bit more bechamel for the flavor and texture contrast.
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What kind of pasta is that? Looks good!
Simple macaroni
Ah. For me, “macaroni” is generic. I’d say “elbow macaroni”.
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Whereas for me, “elbow” is redundant. 
I’ve been wanting to make Pastitsio but first, the other day, I made Moussaka. I used RecipeTinEats recipe up until the bechamel (used 1.5 lbs ground chuck, not 1.25 per the recipe) then I switched to Browneyedbaker for the rest … I wanted a thick layer of the bechamel but didn’t get it. It took me 2 days to make this but it was delicious.
On the site oliveandmango.com I saw her recipe for Moussaka, which has a very thick layer of bechamel … she adds some cornstarch with the flour. She uses the same bechamel recipe for Pastitsio so I think I’m going to try that recipe next. (I’ve never seen such a wordy recipe!!)
The photo is of the Moussaka mentioned above, with a layer of roasted slices of peeled Yukon Gold potatoes. When I try the Pastitsio recipe I will not add ground cloves, just a couple of cinnamon sticks.
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What type of pot do you people like to use to make bechamel? And, have you ever made it with cornstarch added to the flour?
I use a heavy stainless saucepan. I’ve only used flour (but I’ve never needed to make it GF), not combined with cornstarch.
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Depends on how much, but usually an appropriately sized stainless steel pot (usually a 1 or 2 qt saucepan, 3qt if for a crowd).
She says she uses the cornstarch (and an egg yolk) to help the sauce set (with less flour, I assume) to slice cleanly. I haven’t used cornstarch in that context, but I’ve used it for GF bechamel without issue.
There are 2 liters of milk (8 ⅓ cups) and 4 yolks so I’m sure I’d get a good layer on top.
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I use a saucepan for the béchamel.
I have been happy with the recipes on My Greek Dish.
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This looks good
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/green-pastitsio-recipe-2200970
I was trying to find an old Rachel Ray recipe that was called Beef and Feta Pasta Bake, that was a bit like a cheater pastitsio. It’s no longer online. I found the old link, that goes nowhere. LOL. I mentioned the recipe in this post.
Does Pastitsio have feta?
Maybe this is the Beef and Feta Pasta Bake you were thinking of – it’s in one of Rachael Ray’s books.
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Pastitsio doesn’t usually contain feta.
Some Greek pastitsio and moussaka bechamels have parmesan, dried mizithra or other grated cheese added to the bechamel, along with the egg yolk.
Yep, that’s the recipe… thanks.
I saw it online before you posted the link, and started scrolling- the post is is so wordy. I didn’t scroll far enough to get to the feta pasta part. LOL I thought it was a different recipe. LOL.
The Rachel Ray beef and feta pasta bake recipe above ends up being pastitsio-like, or something like a cross between beefaroni and pastitsio, and uses a few less pots. And it’s a baked pasta LOL.
I’m sure you could halve or quarter the recipe if you don’t want to be eating that many servings of pastitsio. (That amount makes 12-15 servings. I made a 3-cup rectangular pyrex dish, thought it would be 2 servings but it was about 3, might have stretched to 4 with a thick bechamel layer)
I also noticed she keeps the pasta and meat sauce separate, I’m guessing for the better visual – I like the sauce mixed into the pasta so it can soak up the flavors.
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When I made the moussaka, I barely kept enough for me. I gave it away to my daughter and various friends … they were thrilled to get a home cooked meal that was so delicious.
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