Vegetarian Pastitsou

When I met my American Greek husband he loved consuming meat, fish and shellfish. He also beloved the Greek food items he grew up on. I am vegetarian and John confirmed me that, due to the fact meat applied to be an high priced commodity, a ton of Greek recipes are meat-no cost and dependent on beans, grains, goats’ cheese and yoghurt, fruit, veggies and olive oil. We ate really properly and John astonished us both of those by selecting to turn into vegetarian. Having said that, he needed me to style his favourite foodstuff that his Mother and Yia Yia produced for him. It is pastitsou, customarily built from minced beef, onions, Greek pasta, Greek parmesan cheese, béchamel sauce and delectable herbs and spices. We experimented and ultimately arrived up with courgettes (zucchini) and broccoli as a alternative for the meat. We later on additional Quorn (a wonderful vegetarian mycoprotein) which can effortlessly be employed in recipes to swap meat. Our resulting meat-no cost pastitsou is so scrumptious that our meat taking in good friends ask us to make it for them. Here is the recipe:

Vegetarian Pastitsou

Elements

1. Veggies and Quorn

· 4 tbsp more virgin olive oil

· 2 substantial onions finely chopped

· 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

· 250g courgettes (zucchini) diced

· 250 g broccoli chopped

· 1 tsp dried oregano

· 1 tsp dried basil

· 3 clean bay leaves

· 3 cinnamon sticks

· 2 cloves

· 700g Quorn mince (if you can’t discover Quorn use an additional meat-no cost mince)

· 400g (14oz) can chopped tinned tomatoes

2. Pasta

· 500g (1lb 2oz) Greek Pastitsou pasta

· 50g (1¾oz) Greek parmesan cheese or Kefalotiri, finely grated

· 1tbsp melted butter or olive oil distribute

3. Bechamel Sauce

· 1.2 litres (2 pints) total milk

· 115g (4 ¼ oz) butter or olive oil distribute

· 115g (4 ¼ oz) flour

· 200g (7 oz) grated Greek parmesan or Kefalotiri

· ½ tsp nutmeg freshly grated

· Salt or reduced salt

· Black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degr C (350 degr F)

2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan until reasonably hot

3. Add the onions and garlic and cook dinner till they soften

4. Include the broccoli and prepare dinner for 5 minutes

5. Incorporate the courgettes (zucchini) and prepare dinner for a more 2 minutes

6. Increase the Quorn, herbs and spices and cook even though stirring until light-weight browning just commences.

7. Include the tin of chopped tomatoes and cook dinner on a mild warmth often stirring for about 20 minutes leaving the mixture nevertheless moist.

8. Get rid of the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves and set apart

9. Boil a substantial pan of h2o – about 4.5 litres (8 pints)

10. Add the pasta and boil right until al dente – about 12 minutes

11. Drain the pasta and spot in a big bowl

12. Blend with melted butter and grated cheese and set aside

13. For the béchamel sauce, melt the margarine on a very low heat

14. Include the flour and stir repeatedly until eventually a roux forms

15. Include the milk minor by very little and stirring continuously

16. When the mixture is a smooth and runny increase the remaining milk and nutmeg

17. Carefully provide to the boil

18. Simmer gently

19. Go on to stir until eventually the sauce thickens and tastes cooked

20. Year to style and set apart

21. Mix about a quarter of the sauce with the overwhelmed eggs

22. Carefully combine with the pasta and half the grated cheese

23. Blend the remaining cheese with the béchamel sauce

24. Grease a huge oven proof dish (roughly 9 cm x 13 cm) with butter or olive oil distribute.

25. Coat the bottom of the dish with a skinny layer of Quorn and veggies

26. Use 1/3 of the pasta to make a layer in the dish

27. Cover with 1/3 of the béchamel sauce

28. Incorporate a layer of ½ the remaining Quorn mixture

29. Keep on layering with 1/3 pasta, 1/3 bechamel sauce, and the remaining Quorn combination.

30. Finish with the remaining pasta and béchamel sauce.

31. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes till golden and bubbling.

Love with a salad of green leaves, sliced yellow peppers and cherry tomatoes with a dressing of virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and French mustard.

If you wish to make this dish reduced-calorie: halve the oil and margarine and use skimmed milk.