Pastitsio ★★★★★1 review

Serves 8 to 10 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 50 mins

INGREDIENTS

For the vegan mince

• 120g/4.2oz textured vegetable protein (TVP) (about 300-330g soaked)
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1/3 cup vegan red wine (dry)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 pinch of allspice
• 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 pinch of cumin
• 250ml/8.5oz tomato sauce
• 375ml/12.7oz of water
• 2 tsp Vegeta (vegetable stock powder)
• Black pepper
• 1 tsp molasses

For the béchamel sauce

• 60g/2.1oz vegan butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3.5 Tbsp flour
• 500ml/16.9oz cashew milk or mixed almond milk with oat milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• White pepper
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 70g/2.5oz grated vegan yellow cheese

Additional ingredients

• 250g/8.8oz spaghetti for pastitsio (eg: Misko macaroni pastitsio No2)
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• A little olive oil
• 50g/1.8oz grated vegan cheddar cheese
• 30g/1.06oz vegan white cheese

METHOD

For the vegan mince

1. Prepare the TVP according to the instructions on the package (I soak it for 10 minutes in vegetable broth). After soaking, drain it very well to remove almost all the liquid.
2. Finely chop the onion, carrot and garlic. In a large pan add a little sesame oil. Once the oil is hot, add the rehydrated TVP and sauté for about 5 minutes (until it browns). Add a little olive oil, then the onion and carrot. Sauté until they turn brown (about 15 minutes). Stir constantly. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the wine, stir and as soon as the alcohol evaporates, add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and all the spices. Mix very well.
4. Add the tomato sauce, plus 250 ml of water. Mix well and add the veggies, pepper and molasses. Stir and cover to get to a boil (5-10 minutes).
5. Once the vegan mince is ready, add another 125 ml of water and stir (we want the vegan mince to be juicy). Taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Remove from the heat.

For the spaghetti

1. Prepare the spaghetti. Boil the water, add 1/2 Tbsp salt and pour in the spaghetti. Once they are al dente, take them off the heat and strain them. Add a little olive oil to the pot so that they do not stick.

For the béchamel sauce

1. Place a saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the butter. Once melted, add the olive oil. Stir and gradually add the flour, stirring constantly. Sauté the flour for about 5 minutes. Once it changes slightly in colour (it will become a little darker) add the milk, stirring constantly.
2. Add salt, nutmeg and pepper. Continue to stir. Once thickened it is ready. Add the nutritional yeast and the yellow cheese, and mix.

Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F.
2. In a Pyrex (27 x 19 cm) add the spaghetti, yellow and white cheese, and mix. Add the vegan mince on top, spread it well, and then add the béchamel sauce. Spread it on top with a spatula and transfer the Pyrex to the oven.
3. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the béchamel has a colour on top.
4. Remove the Pyrex from the oven and ideally leave the pastitsio to cool for 30-45 minutes.

Notes:
– If you do not want to use Vegeta you can replace it with 1 tsp of salt.
– The vegan mince needs to be juicy so that it “runs” into the pasta and does not come out dry.