Pastitsio (, pastítsio) is a baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce, which came from the Ionian Islands to Greece. Variations of the dish are found in other countries near the Mediterranean Sea.
Name and origin
right|frameless
Pastitsio takes its name from the Venetian pasticcio, a large family of baked savory pies that may be based on meat, fish, or pasta, with many documented recipes from the early 16th century, and continuing to modern times. Italian versions include a pastry crust; some include béchamel.
The word pasticcio is attested by the 16th century as "any manner of pastie or pye" and comes from the vulgar Latin word pastīcium derived from pasta, and means "pie", and has developed the figurative meanings of "a mess", "a tough situation", or a pastiche.
The name of an Italian version, lasagna, made with flat noodles, comes from Latin , "cooking pot".
An Egyptian version of it is called macarona bil-bechamel ( ). In the Albanian-speaking regions of the Balkans, the dish is called pastiçe, deriving from pasticcio. It is, however, often meatless and made with an egg and cheese mixture instead of béchamel. Pastitsio is also found on the island of Cyprus, where Greek Cypriots refer to it as makaronia tou fournou (Greek: μακαρόνια του φούρνου), whilst Turkish Cypriots refer to it as fırında makarna. Both names translate to "macaroni in the oven".
Greece
right|frameless
Nikolaos Tselementes, a French-trained Greek chef of the early 20th century, popularized the variant au gratin with béchamel. Other versions with a filling of pasta, liver, meat, eggs, and cheese (similar to most Italian pasticcio recipes), which were wrapped in pastry are forgotten.
Tselementes' published version is now ubiquitous
Malta
In Malta, timpana (the name probably derived from timballo) is made by tossing parboiled macaroni in a tomato sauce containing a small amount of minced beef or corned beef, bound with a mixture of raw egg and grated cheese. Hard-boiled eggs are sometimes added. The macaroni is then enclosed in a pastry case or lid before being baked. A similar dish without the pastry casing is imqarrun.
See also
- Moussaka
- Lasagna
- Pastelón
- Timballo
- Chili mac
- List of casserole dishes
- List of pasta dishes
- Elder Pastitsios
- Su böreği
- Etli makarna