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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 (478g) Recipe makes 8 servings
Calories 452
Calories from Fat 197		(43%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 21.9g	33%
	Saturated Fat 10.2g	50%
	Monounsaturated Fat 8.3g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 1.9g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 120mg		40%
Sodium 463mg		19%
Potassium 1120mg		32%
Total Carbohydrate 49.2g		16%
	Dietary Fiber 9.6g	38%
	Sugars 10.7g
Protein 18.1g		36%
detailed view... how is this calculated?

Vegetarian Pastitsio

Recipe #283282 | 1½ hours | 30 min prep | add private note

⁽³⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: Engrossed
Feb 1, 2008

From: "The Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas, first edition 1972. This book was a real find! Greek-Style casserole.

SERVES 8 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I'd use brown)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1 large eggplant, chopped into small pieces (unpeeled)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2-1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
8 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped or
1 (32 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
8 ounces tomato paste
1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
16 ounces cooked macaroni

Custard Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
3 cups milk, heated
3 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons flour

Directions

1
Preheat oven to 400°F.
2
Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
3
Add onions, eggplant, garlic and seasonings. Cover and let saute, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
4
Add tomatoes and lentils with a little liquid. Cook until very thick.
5
Stir in tomato paste and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste.
6
Butter a large casserole of oblong baking dish and layer half of the noodles across the bottom. Sprinkle one third of the parmesan over the noodles. Layer half of the sauce over noodles and parmesan.
7
Layer the remaining half of the noodles over the sauce, sprinkle with one third of the parmesan and cover with the remaining sauce. *You could refrigerate it at this point if you want to make it ahead of time.
8
Custard Sauce:.
9
Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat, stir in flour, and let roux cook a few minutes.
10
Pour in heated milk, stirring with a whisk.
11
Slowly whisk sauce into beaten eggs.
12
Pour sauce over entire casserole. It should drain through to the bottom and bind the whole thing together. If it sits on top, slide a butter knife in and out of the layers in a few places.
13
Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and cover.
14
Bake for 1 hour.
15
Serve very hot.

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Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Moyni

On Jul 19, 2009

I love this! When in Greece I'll often have the meat version but it crossed my mind that it could easily become veggie and I sought out a veggie recipe. (I am a sucker for lentils). I swapped the aubergine (eggplant) for courgette (zucchini) one time when I was feeding a friend who can't abide aubergine. I use 3 or 4 medium sized onions, diced. I use 2x14oz tins of chopped tomatoes in their juice. I am also able to get spaghetti length macaroni tubes and feel this made for an authentic touch. A greek cypriot friend told me that you should straighten out the long macroni before you lay it in the dish (she doesn't, she admits, and she now uses penne pasta). I have to say that I don't agree with the comment about serving it very hot - it should really sit for at least 20 minutes before serving to have a hope of holding together in a taverna-like slab. Bear in mind, too, that in Greece food is never served very hot (it is considered to be bad for your health, I think). This dish gets even better served on the second day. I try to make sure I have some left to take for lunch to work or to freeze. Thanks for sharing. ps - I've now made this for the third time . . . a true definition of a recipe that is a real "keeper".

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From: bluemoon downunder

On Sep 28, 2008

Fantastically flavoursome! I followed TasteTester's advice and made this two days ago to share with friends for lunch today. None of us are vegetarian but we all agreed that this is arecipe that would appeal to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. So a really useful recipe for when you are serving both! I was tired when I made this, so I followed the recipe exactly! And I'm so glad that I did as I woudn't want to change a thing when making this again. Except for doubling it so that there are more portions to put in the freezer. We enjoyed this with salad greens and crispy rolls and champagne. Thank you, Engrossed, for another superb recipe!

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From: TasteTester

On Feb 17, 2008

Wow! This recipe is a winner. I made it the other day and even our non-vegetarian friends loved it. The lentils give it a sort of "meaty" taste and texture. I would suggest that if making this you prepare it ahead of time, because it does take quite a bit of time to prepare, but it's worth it. And this is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day! (I had some leftover for lunch.) I tried using a 9x13-inch baking dish as stated, but it was overflowing the dish even before adding the custard. It fit perfectly into a 15x11/2-in dish however. I'm so glad I tried this recipe, Engrossed. It's terrific.

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