Cypriot Lasagne (Pastitsio)

This year I spent Easter in my mom’s village. It’s a village with very few permanent residents – about 100 – but all the children, and grandchildren seem to come back during Easter. Not like twenty years ago, when I remember that the village felt alive every day of the year – with donkeys, tractors, waking you up every morning. Those days are gone.

And the decaying stone houses – my family’s included – are evidence that a return to the good ‘ol days, just isn”t around the corner.

Nonetheless, during Easter every year, a burst of energy fills the village. I arrived on the Friday morning, which is when the “epitafio” – a beautiful bed of flowers – is prepared.

On Friday morning, the church bell rang and people passed by the church, often with their children, to help put it together.  On Saturday, the village became very full, with children and grandchildren making the trip to the village specifically to attend Saturday night church service . During the service on Saturday night, the lights were turned off and everyone lit a candle. Even if you are not religious, it is hard not to enjoy attending the very end of the Saturday service because the light is so pretty.

After service, we went home and enjoyed avgolemono soup. This is traditionally how peoples’ fasts are broken. Then on Sunday, the entire village smelled of charcoal. Families in the village were preparing “souvla” (traditionally goat, but now sheep, pork or chicken on a charcoal spit), and other meat dishes such “pastitsio” which is essentially a Cypriot type of lasagne.  Which brings me to today’s recipe, one of my favourite Cypriot meat dishes. It’s layers of Mezzani (A) pasta, mixed pork mince, and bechamel sauce.

This recipe is a family favourite. Everyone has their own way of making “pastitsio”. Some prefer a light bechamel, some prefer a heavier one. Some add tomato, some don’t.  There are many ways to make a good pastitsio, and though this isn’t the only way, it is certainly a tried and tested delicious way. The trickiest part of this recipe is making the bechamel sauce. I have tried to set out the instructions clearly below. Tips and tricks:, when making the bechamel sauce, it is important to continuously whisk and have the stove on low heat. When putting together the “pastitsio”, oil the pan before you begin filling it so that pieces come out easily. When making the bechamel sauce, use some of the reserved pasta water in your bechamel sauce to add a little bit more flavour to it.

Enjoy, any questions, just shoot in the comments below. I was very, very intimidated about making this dish. It’s only ever really brought out in our family, for large and important gatherings, so I was pretty nervous about trying to make it myself. But in reality, it’s just the intimidating (not-so-much-once-you-make-it-once) bechamel sauce! Enjoy!!