Pastitsio (Greek Style Beef and Macaroni Pie)

I have to be honest with you that I don't know much about Greece and its food.

I have long been seduced by the picture perfect blue roofs and white wash stone buildings appeared on those notoriously popular Santorini posters and I have always wanted to visit the island since I was little.

Photo credits to http://airportdirecttravel.co.uk/

Twice we have tried to visit Greece but didn't make it. We were determined to pick Santorini as the ultimate destination for our honeymoon but had to scrap the plan because we just couldn't fit in a visit to Greece with two weddings back to back in Holland and Malaysia plus a new job waiting for us in Sydney.

Last year, we made plans to visit our family in Europe and booked the accommodation (picture above) in Santorini for our 10th wedding anniversary. Sadly, we had to abandon our plan again because of my dad's illness. We went back to Malaysian and spent some quality time with him and family instead of heading to Europe.

Dutch has a special fondness for Greek Food. There are plenty of Greek restaurants in the country. Are they authentic? I am sorry but I am not in a position to comment. I recalled Pieter van den Hoogenband (the Dutch former swimmer and a triple Olympic champion who famously defeated Ian Thorpe to win the gold medal in 200m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympic in Sydney) said during an interview after his return from the 2004 Summer Olympic in Athens that "The Greek foods in Holland taste better than in Athens."

My experience with Greek food in Holland was somehow "interesting".

My first encounter with Dutch Greek foods was during my first trip to Europe in 1998, visiting Mr J's family for the first time. We landed in Schiphol Airport at the crack of dawn after a 12-hours flight from Kuala Lumpur. Immediately upon landing, I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from his family for showing me their beautiful homeland. A visit to windmill at Kinderdijk (in the rain, of course) was warranted, followed by a slow and scenic boat cruise in the chilly weather by the countryside. By 5pm I was totally exhausted.

His parents then suggested to me to have a short nap before meeting the rest of the family for dinner at a Greek restaurant in Gorinchem at 7pm. It was probably the worst mistake I have ever made, 1 1/2 hours later, I was so deeply asleep but had to be woken up to get dressed for the occasion. I was in a daze, extremely tired and terribly nervous, as I was going to meet all his brothers (Mr J has 3 brothers) and their girlfriends. Honestly, I had no idea what I ate that evening, nor could I recall how the foods tasted.

My second encounter with Dutch Greek food was during my 3rd trip to Holland. We suggested to the family to visit the same Greek restaurant again since we didn't fully appreciate the food during our previous visit due to our tiredness and nervousness.

Three hours before the dinner, as I was riding on a bike (when in Rome, do as the Romans do), along with Mr J to the supermarket to pick up some groceries, (and by the way, I was wearing "flip flops") BANG! I hit my right foot on a parked car while trying to avoid an oncoming car on a narrow street. The next thing I knew was the last toe of my right foot was broken, tangling lifelessly at an impossible position. I had to be rushed to the nearby clinic to put the toe back in place where it should be. Ouch!! That's was awfully painful. My foot was wrapped in a bandage and I could hardly walk.

Mr J's parents, always in good spirits, suggested to go ahead with the dinner. "A good dinner can distract the pain", so they said. Great! There I was sitting in the same Greek restaurant, quietly moaned in agony from the pain. What did I eat and how was the food? I absolutely had no idea.

My parents-in-law love Greece, they have spent many holidays in different Greek Islands and they adore Greek Food. Naturally I would want to cook a Greek theme dinner for them when they are here.

As I mentioned earlier, Greek food is not my forte. So I turned to this reputable Australian Greek Chef for recipe. My in-laws don't eat seafood. No fish, no lamb and no duck. Our dinner choices are limited to chicken and beef dishes. I picked his "Kotopoulo Tava" recipe which was featured on the March 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine. According to the chef, it's a traditional Cypriot peasant dish usually made with lamb or mutton. He has changed the recipe slightly and used chicken instead.

It is a very simple dish. I had a beautiful Greek salad ready to accompany this delicious sounding dish and I followed the recipe to a tee.

First, brown the chicken pieces and spread them in an ovenproof casserole dish in single layer with the potatoes:

Scatter onion mixture (garlic, cinnamon, cumin and coriander), lemon rind and sea salt over the potatoes and chicken pieces:

Add chicken stock and cherry tomatoes. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes at 180C. Remove foil, roast until chicken is golden and tender (15-20 minutes).

This is the 'before' picture. I didn't take the 'after' picture because when I removed the dish from the oven, it looked exactly the same as the 'before' picture. Potatoes were rock hard, tomatoes were as plump as it should NOT be and the chicken was not cooked in the centre. I checked the oven temperature again, It was set perfectly at 180C as instructed.

The dinner table was set, four pairs of hungry eyes eagerly waiting for the dinner to be served. I had to do what I needed to do. Whipped the dish in the microwave oven and cook for 5 minutes. At last, the dinner was ready. Although the potatoes were still hard, at least they were edible. The flavour was no way compared to this similar Greek dish I cooked from Rick Stein's recipe. The little food critic Miss C made a remark at the end of the meal, "All I can taste is lemon." which received nods from all of us who partook the dish.

I haven't had much luck with all things Greek, have I?

In much desperation to redeem my credibility, I turned to the good old trusty Rick and made his Pastitsio the following evening, which had everyone carried their full stomach to bed. I believe this is a good testimony of how important it is for cookbook authors to test their recipes properly prior going to print.

Before I sign off, I like to introduce you to this fabulous blog - Souvlaki For the Soul - a great Greek food blog that I read regularly.

Pastitsio (Greek Style Beef and Macaroni Pie) Recipe
(Adapted from Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes)
Serves 8-10

Rick Stein - "This is another recipe inspired by a visit to Rouvas restaurant in Corfu Town. I have a great affection for these Mediterranean baked dishes of meat, pasta, tomato and cheese, and in Corfu they give their version a unique quality with kefalotiri cheese and cinnamon. Kefalotiri is a dry, firm, ewe's milk cheese, full of irregular holes, which ranges in colour from white through to pale yellow, depending on the grazing of the sheep. It is fresh and slightly sharp-tasting, with a distinct flavour of ewe's milk. Just suppose you belong to a book club, and you need an all-in-one simple dish to feed everyone, because you know that with book clubs, you shouldn't try too hard with the food. This is perfection: pastitsio, green salad, crusty bread and gusty red wine. You will all then have the strength to discuss the latest Ian McEwan."

Ingredients

500 g tubular pasta, such as rigatoni, tubetti or tortiglioni (I used penne because I have them in my pantry)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
50 g finely grated Greek kefalotiri cheese or parmesan cheese
2 tbsp melted butter
10 g fresh white breadcrumbs

For the white sauce:
115 g butter
115 g plain flour
1.2 litres full-cream milk, plus a little extra
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

For the meat sauce:
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 kg lean minced beef
200 ml red wine
400-g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
10-cm piece cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp dried oregano, Greek if possible
2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
3 fresh bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. For the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan, add the onion, garlic and celery and fry until just beginning to brown. Add the minced beef and fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, breaking up any lumps with the wooden spoon as it browns. Add the red wine, tomatoes, tomato puree, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, dried and fresh oregano, bay leaves, 100 ml water, 1 1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper, and simmer for 3-40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened but is still nicely moist. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
   
   

   

2. Bring 4.5 litres water to the boil in a large saucepan with 8 tsp salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente - about 13 minutes, but take care not to overcook as it will cook a little further in the oven. Drain well, transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool slightly.


3. For the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium-sized non-stick saucepan, add the flour and cook, stirring, over a medium heat, for 1 minutes. Gradually beat in the milk, then bring to the boil, stirring, lower the heat and leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with nutmeg and some salt and pepper to taste.
   

   

4. Preheat the oven to 180C. Stir in 250 ml (about one-fifth) of the white sauce into the warm pasta with the beaten eggs and half the grated cheese.


5. Keep the remaining sauce warm over a low heat, stirring now and then and adding more milk if it begins to get a little thick.



6. Use the melted butter to grease a large, shallow ovenproof dish that measures about 23 x 33 cm across and 7 cm deep. Spread one-third of the pasta over the base of the dish and cover with half the meat sauce.
   
   

   

   Add another third of the pasta and then the rest of the meat sauce, then cover with a final layer of pasta.
   

   

   Spoon over the remaining white sauce.
   

   

   Mix the remaining grated cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle them over the top.
   

   

   Bake for 40 minutes until bubbling hot and golden brown.

Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes by Rick Stein
Published by BBC Books, August 2007
Hardcover: 216 pages
AU $59.95

"Published to accompany Rick Stein's new ten-part television series for BBC2, this new book starts where FRENCH ODYSSEY left off – at the mouth of the Rhone in the port of Marseilles. Reluctantly abandoning his idyllic canal boat, the Anjodi, Rick takes to the public ferry system which plies between the islands and coastlines of the Mediterranean.

The book contains over 100 recipes divided by types of ingredient or types of dish – from mezze and tapas to calamari and couscous. Although Mediterranean food is always considered to be very healthy, by virtue of its ingredients, Rick will not shy from luxurious ice creams and sticky pastries and the book will also include basic recipes, accompaniments and sauces. He introduces the book with a diary of his gastronomic journey, recounting the many interesting characters and interesting dishes he discovered en route.

Mediterranean food is first and foremost the simple cooking of simple ingredients so it translates extremely well into everyday dishes that cooks of all levels will enjoy making, and above all, eating."