Claire: here is your Pastitsio! This dish, like lasagna, is a production but it is SO delicious it's worth it.
I don't know about "healthy" for either lasagna or pastitsio, tho. Both are pretty heavy with cheese, which has lots of fat.
Pastitsio
When you make an elaborate pasta dish, you¹ll want to make it the centerpiece of your meal. All I would serve with this is a salad of tart young greens such as arugula, dandelions or mache, dressed simply with lemon juice and the very fruitiest extra-virgin olive oil you can find. For those of you to whom the name “Pastitsio” is unfamiliar, it is a traditional Greek dish that is a very close cousin to Italian Lasagne.
makes 16 servings
1 cup onions, finely chopped
1 cup + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
2 pounds ground lean lamb
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
5 cups half and half
4 cups milk
1 ½ cups flour
freshly grated nutmeg
8 large eggs
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
¾ pound Kefalotiri cheese, grated
1 ½ pounds ziti, cooked
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. For meat sauce: In a large skillet, cook onion in 3 tablespoons butter. When onion is translucent, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add meats. Cook over high heat, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon until it is no longer red.
2. Season meat mixture with salt, pepper, tomato sauce, oregano, cinnamon, basil, bay leaf, parsley and wine. Cook the sauce, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. (The dish can be prepared to this point in advance and refrigerated or frozen until you are ready to use it.)
3. For cream sauce: Heat milk and 4 cups half and half just to the boil.
In another saucepan, melt 1 cup butter. Add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. When the roux is blended and smooth, pour in the hot milk and cream, stirring vigorously with the whisk to keep it from lumping. Cook until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 15 minutes.
4. Season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Turn off heat and let the sauce cool for 10 minutes.
5. In a bowl, beat eggs with remaining half and half. Gradually add about 2 cups of the warm cream sauce to this egg mixture, beating constantly to make sure the eggs don’t curdle. Then pour the egg mixture into the cream sauce, continue to stir until everything is well blended. Finally, beat in the ricotta.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a LARGE baking dish—at least 15 x 9 x 4 inches.
7. Cook the ziti and put half in the dish. Sprinkle with half the Kefalotiri. Spoon in half the cream sauce, smoothing it with the back of the spoon. Spread on all the meat sauce. Now add remaining ziti, cream sauce and Kefalotiri. Sprinkle on Parmesan. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, covered, then 30 more uncovered. Let stand 30 minutes before cutting.