Long-time Ina Garten fans know that if there’s one thing she loves more than her food, it’s her husband Jeffrey. She even has a cookbook named after him! So, when the Barefoot Contessa decided to gift us with her favorite Greek dish that she makes to “rock” Jeffrey’s world, we are sitting up and taking notes. (You know it’s going to be good!)
Speaking from her kitchen on the Food Network’s YouTube page, Garten tells viewers: “I bet Jeffrey thinks I’m going to make a twist on chicken. Well you know what, I’m going to rock his world.”
The way she’s going to do that? By making pastitsio, “which is like a Greek lasagna.” Yum! She adds ground beef and ground lamp to a stovetop, where she’s already been sautéing onions for the recipe. “It’s the lamb that makes it so Greek, no chicken,” she advises.
Garten shares that she came across this traditional Greek recipe when she was searching for one-pot meals to make for dinner, calling this one “absolutely delicious.” To season the meat mixture, she pours red wine and sprinkles several different spices — including cinnamon, which Garten calls “a classic Greek combination” paired with the lamb — to liven things up.
Now that the base of the dish is simmering, Garten starts working on the next part. This involves a big can of crushed tomatoes in puree among other ingredients, which are combined into the meat mixture as well.
For the pasta, she uses small shell noodles, which she cooks in a pot of boiling water while everything else is still simmering. “Small shells are wonderful because they sort of distribute themselves through the sauce,” Garten explains. Sounds perfect!
Finally, she works on the best part of the whole thing: the cheese sauce! She creates her own by pouring milk, cream, and other ingredients in a saucepan to make her own “bechamel,” a “white sauce.” Once that’s finished, she starts adding all the layers together. The shell noodles go on top of the tomato-and-meat mixture, then are spread into a baking dish. She also adds Greek yogurt (fitting!) to savory meal. Pour the finished cheese portion on top, trying not to drool all over the top by accident! Freshly grated parmesan cheese make up the final scrumptious layer.
“I mean, doesn’t this look delicious?” Garten asks. When she pulls it out of the oven, Garten predicts that the dish will be “hot and bubbly” and her husband will be a “very happy guy.”
He’s not the only one. Commenters ensure that your whole family will be pleased if you prepare this for their dinner. “This is such a delicious dish. A family favorite,” one person wrote. Someone else said, “We love so much Ina, it’s a lovely pastitsio! Greetings from Greece!”
Others weren’t happy with Garten’s take on this recipe. “NO NO NO pastichio is never made with those noodles. defeats the whole purpose of a long noodle open end noodle. You are spot on with American food but this is so off,” one person said.
“You took a classic and F’d it up,” someone else complained.
See for yourself if you like Garten’s Greek Pastitsio by checking out the full recipe online HERE. (And since Ina made it, we bet you’ll love it!)
Before you go, check out Ina Garten’s easy weeknight dinner recipes below:
