Greek Lasagna...Oopah!

Sup kids. You're probably wondering why I make so many heavy dishes during the summer months. My reasons are three-fold: 1 - I like making this kind of food. They are dishes that take time and care - the essence of a SND. 2 - My area of Southern California is having the most boring summer ever: barely gets above 75 degrees on a good day. I'm sure that if it was 90 degrees outside I'd be making lighter dishes. 3 - Calories don't count on Sundays!

Okay, that's out of the way - thought I had some 'splainin' to do. On to today's recipe: Pastisio! I watched my dear friend Ina's show on Saturday last, and she made this amazing Greek lasagna dish for her adorable husband Jeffrey. It looked delicious and the ingredients seems wack-a-doo to me, so of course I had to try it! Adam okay-ed it after I promised I would make the crazy salad that Ina made as well: arugula with feta cheese and WATERMELON. /Shudder. I'm not a fan of any melon. But I'm a good sport too, so we had an accord.

First things first: make the meat sauce. Finely chop a medium to large yellow onion and throw it into a pot that's been heated over medium heat with a three to four count of olive oil. Sweat those onions out for five minutes or so - you want them to soften but not brown. Next add one pound of ground beef and one pound of ground lamb. Cook that down for 10 minutes or so, and break it up until it crumbles with a wooden spoon. Try to get a little color on the meat. After all that work, the meat and onions need a drink! Add 3/4 cup of red wine (I used rose because that's what I was drinking), and stir well to get any delicious bits stuck on the bottom of the pan up. Next up: add four cloves of minced garlic, one teaspoon of dried oregano, one and a half teaspoons of fresh thyme, two pinches of cayenne pepper, and here comes the wack-a-doo part. One TABLESPOON of cinnamon. Cinnamon??!? I know, nuts right? I was nervous about it because I didn't want to eat dessert meat (who does?) but I was brave, and you need to be too. Mix all of your spices in with the meat and wine well. It will smell very cinnamony, but don't fret. It will be delicious. After cooking for about five minutes, add one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes in puree, along with two teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Mix well, then simmer that lovely sauce for 40-45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and do not cover. The sauce will be quite thick. Be sure to taste for seasonings.

Once the sauce is close to done, start making your béchamel. A béchamel is a white sauce (a "mother" sauce) that can be flavored a million different ways. In a small pot heat 1 1/2 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of heavy cream over medium low heat until simmering. Side note: I used lactose free milk and half/half and it worked out just fine - and was less lactosey for my man friend. Win! As your milk is warming, heat four tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add 1/4 cup of flour and whisk until it is totally mixed with the butter. Cook for about two minutes, then add your warm milk/cream, whisking whisking to avoid lumps. Simmer this for another five minutes until it is thick and smooth. Turn the heat down to low, then add a pinch of grated nutmeg, one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Whisk again, then add a few ladlefuls of your meat sauce and 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir well. Sneak a few tastes.....hot damn is that sauce gooood! Turn the heat off and let the béchamel cool for 10 minutes, then add a few more wacky (but delicious!) ingredients: 2 eggs (beaten together beforehand) and 2/3 cup of Greek yogurt. I was delighted by these additions - not only was the sauce really amazing, but after it's time in the oven the white sauce took on the texture of ricotta cheese and was totally outstanding.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get out a large cake pan. Whilst you are making your béchamel, cook one pound of shell shaped pasted just to al dente. You really want it to have some bite, as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain and add to your meat sauce and mix well. Pour your meat sauce and noodles in the bottom of your cake pan, then spread the white sauce on top evenly with your spoon. Add 3/4 of grated parmesan on top - shake it all over to make a yummy brown crust.

Bake that bad boy for one hour. Towards the end of the hour, keep a weather eye on your Pastisio - mine was nice and browned by forty five minutes. Pull it on out of the oven and let it cool/set while you make your salad.

I made a simple lemon vinaigrette for the salad - the juice of one lemon, a small squirt of dijon mustard, a splash of my wine, pinch of S/P, and a five count of olive oil. Whisk and done. Pour that over your arugula, crumbled feta (get the good stuff that comes in water), and cubed fresh watermelon. Adam loved the watermelon in the salad, and I thought it was pretty darned good without.

Serve up your out of this world greek lasagna after it's cooled a bit and go to town, guys! It has amazing flavor - the cinnamon and cayenne give it such a warm, happy taste. Probably would be great mid-winter but what the hell. Make what you want, when you want. That's my motto.

Heart,

D