PASTITSIO, COACH HOUSE RESTAURANT NEW YORK

Pastitsio, Coach House Restaurant New York image

This recipe for Pastitsio appeared in Woman's Day Magazine on February 8, 1983. The title of the recipe is "Pastitsio For A Party". The recipe was part of a pasta segment by James Beard called "Pasta According to James Beard." Mr. Beard said this, "This rich and full-flavored oven dish comes from Leon Lianides, owner of the Coach House Restaurant in New York. The meat sauce can be prepared ahead and refrigerated." My experiences with this recipe are these: I have personally made this recipe many times over the years. It is the most delicious pastitsio that I have ever eaten. It is not diet food. If you are on a diet this is not the recipe you are looking for. It is not everyday food, it is for celebrations. Some other things I will mention are that the recipe can be halved. Half the recipe makes one 9 x 13 pan. Also, I not only cook the meat sauce a day ahead, but I prepare the cream sauce ahead, fully cooked because of the raw eggs. Bring the temperature up to at least 160 degrees to fully cook the eggs and then add the ricotta cheese. Otherwise the eggs would only be partially cooked and may not be safe the next day. Refrigerate with plastic wrap placed on the surface of the sauce to keep a skin from forming on the surface. And I have on other occasions used five whole eggs instead of using 10 egg yolks. The sauce will be firmer because of the whole eggs but I did not have a problem with it. On the day that I make the dish I cook the pasta and since the cream sauce is cold I mix the pasta into the cream sauce and assemble the recipe as directed. The sauces are cold and you may need to add 5 to 10 minutes cooking time to the times given in the recipe (or until casserole is bubbly). One other variation that I have used is to skip the Romano cheese and use the same amount (or more if you like) of sharp cheddar cheese. I've never used the parsley. The recipe did not specify fresh parsley, but I believe that is what is intended, because of the 1/2 cup amount called for. I did not use ground lamb, ground pork was substituted. I have on occasion used all ground beef. I cook the meat sauce for about an hour. When cooked for 20 minutes as the recipe specified, the meat was too firm for my taste. If making the 12 servings I would use two 4 quart dutch ovens. Add salt and pepper to your taste if the amounts in the recipe are too much or not enough. Here is the recipe as it appeared in the magazine. One other note. I used butter, not margarine. I would not substitute margarine, the flavor will not be as good. Canned tomato sauce is fine. It is a long recipe, takes quite a bit of time and some planning ahead but is very easy to do. And it is expensive to make so please read the entire recipe before beginning. This is my first recipe posting. Be kind. Thank you.

Provided by kittykittygirl

Categories Meat

Time 4h55m

Yield 1 Casserole, 12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 23

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Ingredients

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, plus
3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine, divided use
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
2 lbs lean ground lamb
3 cups tomato sauce
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
7 cups light cream or 7 cups half-and-half, divided
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups flour
generous pinch nutmeg
10 egg yolks
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lbs elbow macaroni or 1 1/2 lbs ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups grated romano cheese

Steps:

In a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat saute' onion in 3 tablespoons butter until tender. Add garlic; saute' two minutes. Add meat; cook over high heat, breaking up pieces, until browned. Add tomato sauce, wine, parsley, bay leaf, oregano, basil, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook sauce about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until most of liquid has been absorbed. Discard bay leaf; set sauce aside.
In medium saucepan scald 6 cups cream and the milk. Meanwhile in heavy 5-quart saucepan melt remaining 1 cup butter. With wire whisk stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in hot cream-milk mixture, stirring constantly to prevent lumping. Cook and stir about 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick and smooth. Season with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and with pepper and nutmeg to taste. Remove from heat; let sauce cool 10 minutes. In bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining 1 cup cream. Gradually beat about 2 cups warm cream sauce into egg mixture. Return egg mixture to cream sauce; stir until blended.
Grease 1 large shallow baking pan (7-quart capacity) or two 13 x 9-inch baking dishes. Spread half of macaroni in pan; sprinkle with half of Romano. Cover with half of cream sauce, smoothing it with back of large spoon. Spread on all of meat sauce. Top with layer of remaining macaroni, cream sauce and grated cheese. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 55 minutes or until covered with golden-brown crust. To serve in neatly cut squares, finish cooking at least 6 hours before serving. Let stand at room temperature; if day is warm, refrigerate. Cut in serving portions. To reheat, cover pan with foil; bake in preheated 350 degree oven 30 minutes or until heated through. Makes 12 generous servings.
Final Note: If the 400 degrees temperature seems too high, lower your oven temperature. (I bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes). But again the temperature of 400 degrees is as the recipe appeared in the magazine. I am typing this from the original page, ripped from the 1983 magazine. The above 12 servings is correct according to the recipe, for the entire 7 quart casserole. Keep in mind that these are high end restaurant servings and apparently the portions are huge.
But my experience has been that half the recipe is 12 servings. That is one 9 x 13 pan.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1308.1, Fat 87.7, SaturatedFat 49, Cholesterol 446.3, Sodium 1285.8, Carbohydrate 71, Fiber 3.5, Sugar 5, Protein 55