Food In The Fort

This past January Leo and I were in Chicago for a conference and had lunch at the Parthenon. That’s not a very creative name for a Greek restaurant, but the food wasn’t as cliched. In fact, it rocked. Or actually, it flamed in the case of the saganaki - opa! While we don’t want to go into a detailed review here, the Parthenon is excellent and should be on your itinerary the next time you’re in Chicago. The pastitsio there, Greek for “macaroni and cheese,” made such an impression on us that we wanted to try and duplicate the experience at home. We failed. But it was a glorious, cheesy failure which kept the dog in pots to lick for close to an hour. It also made an excellent breakfast. So here’s the recipe with some caveats: add salt, add hot sauce or red pepper and, by all means, add garlic!

Pastitsio
Pasta Mixture Ingredients

• 8 oz. bucatini or ziti pasta
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten

Pasta Mixture Preparation

1. Cook pasta; drain, and return to pan
2. Stir in the melted butter, Parmesan cheese, milk and egg; set aside

Meat Mixture Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beeef
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried mint flakes
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Meat Mixture Preparation

1. In a skilled, cook ground beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain excess fat
2. Stir in the tomato sauce, salt, mint flakes, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside

Cream Sauce Ingredients

• 4 tsp. butter
• 4 tsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Cream Sauce Preparation

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter then mix in the flour and salt
2. Slowly stir in the milk, stirring constantly so that no lumps form
3. Cook on medium high, stirring frequently, until sauce starts to thicken; stir for a minute more then remove from heat
4. Pour beaten egg into the cream sauce, stirring briskly
5. Blend in the Parmesan cheese

Pastitsio Preparation

1. Layer half the pasta mixture in a 2 quart baking dish
2. Spoon the meat mixture on top, then make another layer with the remaining pasta
3. Pour the cream sauce over all, covering completely
4. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes until hot and lightly browned
5. Let stand 10 minutes or until you can’t stand it anymore!

About the author:  I'm a Latin-teaching foodie who has lived (and eaten) in Fort Wayne for the past 10 years. I love all the ethnic grocery stores here and the great Mexican restaurants. Cooking is something that I really enjoy, although I tend to improvise a lot and experience my share of disasters. My parents are both wonderful cooks, as was my paternal grandmother (Oma), and I'm always trying to make things the way mom, dad or Oma did. Read more from this author