Easter is coming and so I bet you are looking for a crowd pleasing dish, which whoever gathers around your table, vegan or not, would be happy to tuck into. I have one such dish for you and I challenge anyone not to enjoy it. It’s called pastitsio and it’s the Greek answer to lasagne, although some people say that it’s actually Italian. I’m not sure, but I do know a good pastitsio from when I lived in Greece as it is a mandatory staple on every decent taverna’s menu.
It’s a really comforting dish but as it’s eaten in Greece, which, Northern mountainous regions aside, doesn’t really know true winter 😉 – I feel like it’s very appropriate right now even if Easter Sunday turns out to be sunny and warm and you never know – especially when you live in the UK like me… Whatever weather Zeus sends us, we will be fine with a tray of pastitsio to dive into, hahahaha.
Compared to moussaka, pastitsio isn’t as well known outside of Greece but it’s just as delicious and a little less fussy to make too. It consists of three distinct layers, the first one being pasta traditionally bound together with eggs and feta cheese, followed by beef ragu and crowned with layer of creamy béchamel.
Traditionally, bucatini pasta is used for the base, but I decided to use the more widely available macaroni as it passed the test cooks with flying colours and it makes the recipe a little more accessible too. An important thing to remember is not to overcook your pasta! Having lived in Greece for four years, I noticed that they tend to take their pasta way beyond al dente. Initially, I put it down to a mistake or maybe personal preference of the cook but then I noticed that all the pasta packets I’ve ever bought whilst living there overstated pasta cooking time considerably. It is in Greece that I got into the habit of never quite trusting the prescribed cooking time and finding it out for myself. In the case of this dish, as the bake spends 50 minutes in the moderately hot oven, it is imperative to only just pre-cook your pasta or your will end up with an overcooked mess at the end.
I replaced beef with a delicious and accidently healthy combination of umami-rich mushrooms and fibre-rich lentils. They deliver heaps of flavour and texture and make this still indulgent dish way healthier too. While traditional pastitsio boasts 800 kCal per portion, this guy comes in at half that. The final layer is béchamel, which is by far the most indulgent element of this entire dish, but I feel that it’s okay to indulge from time to time, isn’t it? It is made with mild tasting olive oil, flour and oat milk. It’s light, creamy and makes this dish so addictive. Its creaminess works beautifully against the slight tanginess of the tomato and wine based ragu. I like to serve it with a large green salad, some good wine and nibbles like olives, dips and crackers.
We have been living on a few variations of this dish for the past week and we’ve enjoyed it immensely. It took our taste buds right back to living on the Mediterranean sea, which we miss this year in particular. I hope you and your nearest and dearest will enjoy it just as much and it will make your Easter gathering a little bit more special. καλή όρεξη!
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 250 g / 8¾ oz chestnut / cremini mushrooms, cleaned
- 125 g / 4½ oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, cleaned
- ¾-1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves*
- ½ tsp salt, adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper, to taste
- 120 ml / ½ cup red wine
- 400 g tin plum tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste / concentrate
- 3 tsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp vegan Worcester sauce
- 2 fresh or dry bay leaves
- a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- 150 g / 1 cup cooked Puy or other firm lentils
- 1 tsp sugar or date nectar
PASTA LAYER
- 300 g / 10½ oz macaroni pasta* (GF if needed)
- 120 ml / ½ cup oat milk (or other plant milk)
- 1 tbsp tapioca
- salt and pepper
BECHAMEL (or alternative bechamel)
- 1 head of roasted garlic cloves** (optional)
- 2 tsp white miso paste
- 780 ml / 3¼ cups oat milk (I recommend Oatly original) or other plant milk
- 80 ml / 1/3 cup mild olive oil (or 100 g / 3½ oz vegan butter)
- 80 g / 2/3 cup AP flour (or GF flour mix)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp pepper, adjust to taste
- freshly ground nutmeg (I used 1/3 whole nutmeg), to taste
- Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F.
- Cut the top of the garlic head(s) off with a knife. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap the garlic in a piece of kitchen foil so that the tops of the cloves are protected from getting burnt.
- Place in a preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the cloves are soft and caramelised. Store in the fridge for 1 week.
RAGU
- Heat up olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pan. Once the oil starts shimmering, add diced onion and sauté, on a low-medium heat, until translucent and only just caramelised (about 15 minutes). Skip to step 3 while waiting.
- Add in the garlic and fry for a few more minutes until fragrant.
- While the onions are sautéing, dice your mushrooms quite finely. You can use a food processor but it’s too easy to overprocess them so I prefer to chop them by hand, it also saves on washing up.
- Once the onion-garlic mixture is ready, add diced mushrooms in three batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan. As soon as the first batch is cooked (turns dark brown), add the next.
- Once all the mushrooms are cooked, season them with cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Allow all the water to cook out.
- Add in wine and allow the alcohol taste to cook out before adding in plum tomatoes, their juices, tomato paste, a cup of water (rinse your tin with it), tamari, Worcester sauce (if using), bay and thyme leaves and a pinch of chilli (if using).
- Break tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and give the mixture a good stir. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until tomatoes have fully broken down and sauce becomes homogenous. Give the sauce a good stir from time to time, add a splash more water if the pan is looking too dry.
- Once the tomatoes break down fully, stir in cooked lentils. If the ragu is too dry, add a little water as it will dry out more during baking.
- Adjust the seasoning and add a touch of sweetness if desired. Set aside to cool.
PASTA
- Cook pasta for half amount of the time stated on the packet. My macaroni packet said 11-13 minutes, I cooked it for 6 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water.
- Return the pasta to the empty pot you cooked it in, stir in oat milk, salt and pepper to taste and tapioca flour.
BECHAMEL
- Measure out the milk. Blend roasted garlic cloves and miso paste with 120 ml / ½ cup of the oat milk allocated for the béchamel sauce.
- Slowly heat up olive oil in a large saucepan (stainless steal works best for this). Once the oil starts to shimmer, gradually whisk in flour. Keep whisking until the mixture is super smooth. Allow the mixture to bubble gently, whisking the whole time, for a whole minute so that there is no raw flour taste in your béchamel, but make sure it doesn’t colour.
- Next, reduce the heat to low and start adding in oat milk while whisking the whole time. Initially the mixture may thicken really quickly and look a bit lumpy – don’t worry, it will recover once all the milk has been whisked in. Once the mixture looks stable whisk in nutritional yeast and allow it to melt into the sauce, then continue adding in the rest of your milk, including the batch you’ve whizzed up with garlic and miso. Simmer only just enough for the sauce to thicken, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
ASSEMBLY
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 390° F (or 160° C / 320° F on a fan setting).
- Arrange a layer of seasoned pasta at the bottom of the baking dish (see notes).
- Spread ragu on top of the pasta, followed by the béchamel.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through cooking to ensure it bakes evenly. Increase the oven temperature by 10° C / 20° F for the last 10 minutes of baking time to speed up browning.
- Allow the dish to set for at least an hour or else the slices will come out messy, although I do recommend waiting to consume until the following day – the flavours will mellow and the dish will taste even better. Store the leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge or freeze in air-tight containers.
*Traditionally, bucatini pasta is used, but as I could not find any locally, I went for macaroni, which worked really well. Alternatively, you can also use ziti or penne.
**I recommend baking 3 heads at one time as they make a great addition to salad dressings, dips, soups. Alternatively you could use a finely grated clove of raw garlic, which you can add in straight or sauté it in the oil first, but be super careful not to let it turn brown – it will make the béchamel taste bitter.
The baking dish I used is a square 25 cm / 10″ dish, but another shape dish of similar surface area will work just as well.
It's up to you, you can do either but making the sauce and the bechamel the day in advance is probably easier...If you reheat the entire bake, you probably won't need to cool it for as long as it will have set nicely already the day before. I have neve done it that way so I am unsure but my guess is that you'll be fine letting it settle for 20 minutes or so. Hope this helps. Ania
Cornstarch is usually a good replacement although, full disclosure, I have not tried it in this particular recipe. Pretty sure it will come out great and you'll enjoy the dish. Ania
Yes, it is correct and I've never had anyone else complain - this recipe has had plenty of 5 star reviews and great comments from my guests too - so perhaps you are sensitive to that flavour. You can of course adjust to your liking. Ania
the recipe looks really good.
from what you say, I understand it should brle served at room temperature. .
we enjoyed your courgette pasta with almonds twice.
This recipe makes nine 8 cm / 3" square servings (I baked mine in 25 cm / 10" square dish) or twelve smaller ones. Hope you'll enjoy it and if you could review my courgette pasta recipe, I would really appreciate it. x Ania
Can't wait to try it! My mouth is already watering! Xxx
Sure, it will work but mushrooms also contribute flavour so if I were you I would sneak in some porcini stock into the mix, soak TVP in it before adding it all to the pan (they will know, it simply contributes a lot of savouriness / depth of flavour / umami). Hope this helps and that it will go down well. x Ania
I have a couple more questions if thats ok! Ive managed to find a 25cm square dish but it looks a bit shallower than yours - do you have the depth of the dish you used please?
Also I noted that you serve it at room temp or slightly warmer - do you have to prep your guests in advance so theyre not expecting something super hot like a normal lasagna?
Sorry for all the silly questions!
Lu x
I've just measured and my dish is just over 5.5 cm to the brim. As for the serving temperature, I mention it as I serve it but especially if served in the warmer months, it's not a problem. It depends on your guests and their expectations I guess but ultimately you are the host so the decision on how and what to serve is solely yours :) . You could serve it straight away if they insist, but the slices will be much messier. I actually find that to be the case with lasagne as well. Not silly questions, hosting can be a bit stressful especially of making something for the first time. Good luck and I hope it all goes well. x Ania
You don't have to, but it does give it a nice depth of flavour. There is other flavourings (miso, roasted garlic) that will easily compensate for it though if you don't have it. x Ania
Tapioca is used so that the pasta layer doesn't fall apart as easily. You could simply make a bit of roux with regular flour or chickpea flour (fat, flour, plant milk) to bind it together or leave it out but the pieces will be a little less neat. x Ania
Hmm, that's a tough one as mushrooms provide both texture and a lot of flavour. I would perhaps use fried or baked aubergine / eggplant or some crumbled (smoked would be nice) firm tofu and some veggie stock? Hope this helps! x Ania
Thank you again!
The recipe looks very complicated, but it is worth following exactly, if only to get the feel and taste of the intended result. I can think of many variations for that middle layer! I really liked the pasta trick - undercooking the pasta, then mixing with vege milk and tapioca. The pasta will be chewy and will stick together nicely. I let the pastitsio rest for 30 minutes before eating - we just couldn't resist the aroma :-P.
If you cook the pasta first and then layer it in the baking dish, you can reuse the pot to make the top layer, saves on washing.
Absolutely, just portion it and lock away in air-tight containers. Ania
I recently discovered your blog and am equally enjoy your writing voice as much as your delicious recipes. I’m a very intuitive vegan cook, mostly reading food blogs for inspiration. However this time I more or less followed this recipe. I admittedly cheated with a jar of marinara sauce and some Moroccan spice blend. Oh my goodness. After eating this dish for dinner three nights in a row my husband and I will be mourning the absence of it in our refrigerator. I found myself thinking about it in the late afternoons, asking myself it was too early for dinner. Definitely a new favorite to make for guests, a holiday, or a particularly bleak feeling Monday. Thank you!
Yes, it is typically eaten at room temperature or only just a little warm. It takes a while before it becomes cold. I recommend eating it a day after it has been made as the flavour improves with time. You can either just bring it back to room temperature (especially on a warm day) or if you want it warmer, place in a low oven for 30 minutes or so. Hope this helps! Ania
You could use another tsp of miso paste (but dial down salt) or maybe a tiny amount of marmite (if you can have it). Don't worry roasted garlic, nutmeg and miso provide plenty of flavour so you can skip it too if you wish. Hope this helps! Ania