Vouvalitsio
Ingredients
- 250g Pastitsio Pasta (Spaghetti No2)
- 500g Buffalo Minced Meat
- 360g Rustic Tomato Sauce
- Fine Sea Salt
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the “Yaourtokomma”
- 1kg Authentic Greek Yoghurt
- 100g Kaseri Cheese (+ 25g extra for the topping)
- 3x Eggs
- 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (+ some extra for the topping)
- 2x Espresso Spoons Nutmeg
- 2x Pinches “Aroma Tale”
Instructions
“Vouvalitsio” is our version of the well-known “Pastitsio”
made with “Vouvali” aka Buffalo Meat &
“Yaourtokomma” aka the Greek Bechamel!
We start with the making of “yaourtokomma”, the Greek version of bechamel that is much more light & with a fresher taste when baked. The process is quite simple since you just need to mix the ingredients. Place in a bowl the authentic Greek yoghurt, the eggs, the extra virgin olive oil & the finely grated kasseri. Add a bit of nutmeg & quite some of our herb mix. Mix well & leave it aside in a cool place.
In a big pot, cook the pastitsio pasta in boiling water with a bit of sea salt for around 8mins. At the same time, in a warm pan add some extra virgin olive oil & smash in the buffalo minced meat (defrost it in the fridge overnight) with some sea salt. When it is quite cooked pour in the rustic tomato sauce, give it some good stirs before lowering the fire & let it cook all together for 5mins to homogenize the flavours.
Empty the boiling water from the pasta & add the meat with the sauce in the big pot & mix well. Then spread nicely the mixture in a deep oven tray of around 36x26x6cm & cover with a thick layer of “yaourtokomma”. Grate some extra kasseri on top & place in a preheated oven at 170oC with air circulation & the upper resistance on. Let it bake for around 30-45mins (Notice: turn the tray 180o at 20-30mins to bake more evenly) & till you have a nice crust on top.
Enjoy it with a nice Greek craft beer!