My Kitchen, My World…Greece!
There are two kinds of people – Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.
Well, at least that’s what the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding assumed. He could be right, you know? Life is a whole lot simpler there, or at least it seems like it is anyway. This week’s choice of Greece comes from Karen at somethingssweetbykaren. See, I am not picking all of the countries myself, and yet I still have a personal Greek vacation story or two to bore your pants off.
In 2003, Jon and I spent a week in Athens, just wandering the city and taking little day trips to some of the outlying islands. I wish I could remember the name of it, but one day we took the ferry over to a little island that apparantly no one ever goes to except, well, us. I had the best chocolate mousse cake there as we sat on the beach and watched the sun set. That was our third wedding anniversary, and if I remember correctly (and I do) Jon gave me a really great 3 stone diamond necklace while we sat there eating that cake. (he’s a keeper – ladies, don’t get any ideas about stealing him.)Then, on our Mediterranean cruise last year, we hit several ports around Greece, including Athens, Rhodes, and Olympia, the site of the original Olympic Games. I won’t keep you with the details of everything we did there…but I will insert a few pics to make this a little more entertaining.
In this pic, if you look in the bottomish righthand side, you’ll see two people sitting – that’s Jon & I. For some reason, I love this picture…
So, you’re asking, what did you make to EAT?? Well, here it is…Pastitsio, a pasta casserole that is Oh So Yummy.
Pastitsio
serves 6
1 (16 ounce) package Ziti Pasta Noodles
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 T. Miced garlic (in water)
2 Green onions, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
ground black pepper to taste
Few sprigs fresh Oregano (or dried, to taste)
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 T. Miced garlic (in water)
2 Green onions, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
ground black pepper to taste
Few sprigs fresh Oregano (or dried, to taste)
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 egg yolk
Pinch Nutmeg
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook garlic, onions and beef until meat is browned. Add tomatoes, pepper and oregano. Stir and cook about 5 minutes. Add in 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese.
Lightly coat a casserole or baking dish with olive oil and spread 1/2 the cooked pasta in it. Add the meat sauce and cover with the remaining pasta.
Melt butter in a saucepan and blend in flour and nutmeg. Slowly add milk, stirring almost to boiling. In a bowl, blend remaining parmesan cheese and egg yolk and slowly add to the milk sauce, stirring constantly.
Pour sauce over macaroni and bake for 30 minutes. Top should be golden and a little crispy.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook garlic, onions and beef until meat is browned. Add tomatoes, pepper and oregano. Stir and cook about 5 minutes. Add in 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese.
Lightly coat a casserole or baking dish with olive oil and spread 1/2 the cooked pasta in it. Add the meat sauce and cover with the remaining pasta.
Melt butter in a saucepan and blend in flour and nutmeg. Slowly add milk, stirring almost to boiling. In a bowl, blend remaining parmesan cheese and egg yolk and slowly add to the milk sauce, stirring constantly.
Pour sauce over macaroni and bake for 30 minutes. Top should be golden and a little crispy.
Why is this dish considered Greek? It seems so, um, Italian?? Well, the name, of course!! Actually, I found this recipe many places throughout the web, and was pleasantly surprised at how Non-Italian it ended up tasting! Maybe it was the nutmeg in the bechamel sauce on top? Itwas great, and reheats very well. This will make 6 good sized servings – so have a little party and serve this one up toga style!! It would be great to serve with a nice Greek Salad and Baklava for dessert…but alas, I ran out of time this week!
Now, cruise on over to the MKMW blogroll and see what our other Traveling Chefs have made!!
Stay tuned for next week!
