INGREDIENTS:

Meat Sauce:

  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1¼ lb ground lamb (or beef)
  • 1½ tsp Spice Tree Organics Athenian Gyro Blend
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cup beef broth
  • 2 cups crushed tomato
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt, to taste

Bechamel and Pasta:

  • ½ lb Rigatoni, Penne, or Bucatini
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup Pecorino cheese
  • 6 tbsp flour
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 3.5 cups full fat milk

METHOD:

- Preheat the oven to 375.

- For the meat sauce, heat the olive oil. When hot, add the chopped onion and saute until cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the ground lamb and mix well. Cook the ground lamb in the onion and garlic until cooked through, about 6 minutes.

- Add the spices, crushed tomato, and beef broth to the meat, and mix well. Season with salt, and add the pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, until the liquids reduce and you have a thick meat sauce. Taste again for salt and seasonings, and adjust to taste.

- While the meat sauce is cooking, bring a large stockpot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta until al dente. 

- To make your bechamel, melt the 6 tbsp butter in a sauce pan, then add 6 tbsp flour. With a whisk, incorporate the flour into the butter until you have a smooth paste. Cook the butter and flour mixture for 2 minutes, while whisking it, in order to remove the raw flour taste. Add the milk and increase the heat, and whisk continuously to incorporate the paste into the milk. When the milk begins to bubble, and thicken enough that it coats the back of a wooden spoon, turn off the heat.

- Whisk the two eggs in a bowl, and add a ladle of bechamel to the eggs. Whisk the bechamel into the eggs quickly so that the temperature of the eggs comes up. Slowly add this mixture to the sauce pan with the remaining bechamel sauce and whisk well to distribute the eggs. Add in ½ cup of Pecorino cheese, taste and adjust for salt.

- To assemble, grease a large baking dish with butter. Mix your pasta with your meat sauce, and add in the remaining ¼ cup of Pecorino cheese, then pour this into your baking dish. Pour your bechamel sauce over the meat and pasta mixture. Cook for 35-45 minutes, until the bechamel has set, and the top has browned slightly. You can broil the dish for 2 minutes before serving to develop more brown, if necessary. Serve with a Greek salad for a complete meal!