The farmers markets are starting to open around town, a wonderful sign of spring. Many of them feature someone selling lamb. I’m much enamored of that meat, having fallen deeply in love with it from my first bite under the watchful eye of Aris, my favorite waiter at the old Grecian Gardens on Euclid Avenue. There may be ways to prepare lamb that I don’t like, but I haven’t found them yet. Still, the first time I ate pastitsio, I was un-thrilled. Cinnamon in a savory dish? Just didn’tr seem right.
A couple of decades and much enjoyment of Indian food later, cinnamon seems perfectly logical to me, so when I came across this recipe, I was glad to find it combines many things we like a lot.
I believe it’s from GOURMET, and suspect purists would look at it and moan about a lack of serious authenticity. Too bad; it’s deeply tasty, can be assembled in advance, stretches a pound of ground lamb to feed lots of people and, overall, is worth the fuss. In truth, it’s not a quick-and-dirty recipe.
The lamb sauce can be made a day or two in advance. So can the cheese sauce up to the point where the eggs are added. Just whisk it until it’s smooth before whisking in the eggs. I’ve also assembled it a few hours before I baked it and refrigerated it, covered until it was time to bake. I talk about "generous" measures for some of these. All that means is that you needn’t level the measures off as you would when baking. It’s not quite as much as a "heaping" spoonful, but just rather gently rounded. The original recipe didn’t talk about generous measures, but I find I like this with a little more pronounced flavor. As you add the oregano to the sauce, rub it between your hands before tossing it in, to increase the depth of taste.
The lamb sauce:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. ground lamb
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1 /2 tsp. salt
1 generous teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 /2 generous tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 generous tsp. black pepper
1 lb. eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/ 2 inch cubes
1 (28- to 32-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
Heat a large (4-quart or so) heavy pan over moderately low heat. When it’s hot, add the olive oil, let it heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it’s softened, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to moderately high, add the lamb. Saute, stirring and breaking up the lumps, until no longer pink. Add garlic, salt, oregano, cinnamon, sugar and pepper. Continue to saute another 2 or 3 minutes.
Stir in eggplant and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, drop the heat, cover the pan and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes more. Taste the sauce, and see if it needs more salt or pepper. Remember, you’re seasoning the pasta, too. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
The cheese sauce:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1 garlic clove
1 whole clove
1 /2 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 tsp. salt
1 /2 tsp. black pepper
2 large eggs, room temperature
Melt butter in a medium pan with a heavy bottom over moderate. Add the garlic and cook for a moment or two. Do not let the garlic brown. Stir in flour and the clove and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. (Start timing after the butter and flour are completely mixed. Longer than 2 minutes is okay; less isn’t.) Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. (This will be faster if you’ve taken the chill off the milk in the microwave, by the way.) Reduce heat so the mixture is just simmering, and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add feta, salt and pepper, and cook, whisking vigorously until the cheese is well incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Remove from the heat. (And fish our that clove, if you can find it.)
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sauce, just a little at a time at first, and whisking constantly.
The pasta:
14 oz. penne
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water just until al dente. Then drain in a colander. Toss half the pasta with the lamb sauce and half with the cheese sauce.
Pour pasta with lamb sauce in a 3 quart casserole, preferably a wide, shallow one, and spread it evenly. Spoon pasta with cheese sauce on top and even it out.
Bake pastitsio uncovered in the middle of the oven until it’s bubbling and the top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes if nothing had been done beforehand and refrigerated, longer if they had. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
Serves 6 as a main course, more on a buffet line.
-Ann