When I met my Greek American husband, he loved to eat meat, fish, and shellfish. He also loved the Greek food that he grew up with. I am a vegetarian, and John showed me that since meat used to be an expensive commodity, many Greek recipes are meat-free and rely on beans, grains, goat cheese and yogurt, fruit, vegetables, and olive oil. We ate very well and John surprised us both by deciding to become a vegetarian. However, he wanted her to try his favorite food that his mom and Yia Yia prepared for her. It’s pastitsou, traditionally made with minced beef, onions, Greek pasta, Greek Parmesan cheese, bechamel sauce, and delicious herbs and spices. We experimented and eventually came up with zucchini and broccoli as a meat replacement. Then we add Quorn (a great vegetarian mycoprotein) that can easily be used in recipes to replace meat. Our resulting meatless pastitsou is so delicious that our carnivorous friends ask us to make it for them. Here is the prescription:
vegetarian pastitsou
Ingredients
1. Vegetables and Quorn
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
250 g courgettes (zucchini) cut into cubes
250 g of chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 fresh bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
2 nails
700g Quorn mince (if you can’t find Quorn, use another meatless mince)
14 oz (400 g) can diced canned tomatoes
2. Pasta
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Greek pastries or pasta
1¾ oz (50 g) Greek Parmesan or Kefalotiri cheese, finely grated
1 tablespoon melted butter or olive oil for spreading
3. Bechamel sauce
1.2 liters (2 pints) of whole milk
4 ¼ oz (115 g) butter or olive oil for spreading
4 ¼ ounces (115 g) flour
7 oz (200 g) grated Greek Parmesan or Kefalotiri
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt or little salt
black pepper
method
1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees C (350 degrees F)
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet until moderately hot.
3. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened.
4. Add broccoli and cook for 5 minutes
5. Add the courgettes (zucchini) and cook for 2 more minutes
6. Add the Quorn, herbs and spices and cook while stirring until just beginning to lightly brown.
7. Add the can of diced tomatoes and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, leaving the mixture still moist.
8. Remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves and set aside.
9. Bring a large pot of water to a boil – about 4.5 liters (8 pints)
10. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.
11. Drain the pasta and place it in a large bowl.
12. Mix with the melted butter and grated cheese and set aside
13. For the bechamel sauce, melt the margarine over low heat
14. Add the flour and stir continuously until a roux forms.
15. Add the milk little by little and stirring continuously
16. When the mixture is smooth and runny, add the remaining milk and nutmeg.
17. Bring gently to a boil
18. Simmer Gently
19. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and tastes cooked.
20. Season to taste and reserve
21. Mix a quarter of the sauce with the beaten eggs
22. Mix gently with the pasta and half the grated cheese
23. Mix the rest of the cheese with the bechamel sauce
24. Grease a large baking dish (approximately 9cm x 13cm) with butter or olive oil spread.
25. Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of Quorn and vegetables
26. Use 1/3 of the pasta to make a layer on the plate.
27. Cover with 1/3 of the bechamel sauce
28. Add a layer of half of the remaining Quorn mixture
29. Continue layering with 1/3 pasta, 1/3 bechamel sauce and the remaining Quorn mixture.
30. Finish with the remaining pasta and bechamel sauce.
31. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes until golden and bubbly.
Enjoy with a salad of leafy greens, sliced yellow bell peppers and cherry tomatoes with a dressing of virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and French mustard.
If you want to make this dish low in calories: halve the oil and margarine and use skimmed milk.
