Monday: Turkey Pastitsio

This is traditionally a Greek dish done with beef and even sometimes lamb (which I canNOT bear to even smell cooking), topped with a bechamel sauce and eleventy-thousand calories. Amazing, silky beefy calories. However, the main part of the meal, the interesting spices and sauce, hold up well when adjusted a wee tiny bit. Try it!

You will need:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped fine

1/4 c tomato paste

1 c beef stock

1 tsp cinnamon

100 g pasta of your choice (I am using multigrain fusili, but you could use rotini, or macaroni)

1 1/4 c 1% or skim milk

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp grated nutmeg

2 tomatoes, sliced thinly

1/4 c breadcrumbs (I am using panko, but whole wheat would be better)

Salt, pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (I know, hot, right??) and spray a 9 x 9 glass dish with oil. I prefer glass because of the browning and the cut-ability, but whatever you got. You will notice that I used a 10 x 13 pan in the pictures, I feel now that was a mistake. Smaller! Less is more in this case.

Saute the chopped onion with the turkey in a non-stick saucepan for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are softened and the turkey is no longer pink. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Get your pasta started now-ish. Add the tomato paste and cup of stock (you could substitute one cup of red wine if you aren't planning to inebriate any children), the cinnamon to the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Trust me! It's going to be sooo good!

Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse your pasta; I like mine just slightly underdone when I am going to bake it with something containing liquid. I hate overcooked pasta. Yes, I even used the "H" word.

Place the meat mixture in the bottom of the prepared dish, top with a layer of pasta.

Halfway...

Playing hide the turkey

Then start your bechamel sauce. This is your basic white sauce (and the basis of macaroni and cheese!) but here's where I found that a smaller dish would have worked better. This is quite a thick sauce, it cuts back on the traditional ratios, and it will fit a small square dish perfectly.

ANYway, take your now-clean saucepan (seriously, wash it), melt the butter and add in your flour. Mix well together with a wooden spoon.

It just looks like it's going to taste awesome, doesn't it?

Or use a spatula!!

When the butter and flour is really well mixed (it will resemble small dry bits), start adding the milk, slowly, just covering the bottom of the pan.

Apparently I am not managing my heat well

And stirring until each new batch of milk is incorporated. Repeat until all the of milk has been added and the sauce is nice and smooth.

Add in your nutmeg and some more salt and pepper. This is a good time to taste, add more seasoning as required. Spread the sauce over your noodle-covered turkey.

Leetle skimpy in the big dish

Layer on your tomatoes.

Overlap them if you have to

And sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.

Bake uncovered in the smoking hot oven for 30 to 35 minutes, there should be bubbling.

I cut this into 6 servings at just over 250/per serving. DO NOT use this as a guaranteed measure, I was looking at the back of all of my own packages, etc etc. It can vary! Anyway, enjoy!