Mmm... more béchamel. This was dinner, and also delicious. It all stayed together amazingly well, serving per serving, and it got notes of approval from the resident picky eater, despite the fact that it's MEATLESS!

The greens off to the left are known as horta. There was spinach, romaine, and mustard greens sautéed in olive oil and lemon juice, with a little lemon zest. Rather tart and delicious way to have your greens (though the purple is where someone spilled cabbage into it).

Meatless Pastitsio
2 Tbls olive oil
2-3 tomatoes, crushed
2 Roma tomatoes, diced and seeded
1-2 lbs seitan, shredded/grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fistful of mint
juice of 1 lemon
1 lb pastitsio no. 2 pasta (ziti or penne also work if you can't find this)
1/4 cup grated kefalotyri or parmagiana
3-4 cups béchamel
bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Set the pasta to boil in the usual manner until al dente, then drain and rinse. Toss with butter or olive oil (optional).

Heat the oil in a large skillet or saucepan, the add the tomatoes and cook until tender. Add the seitan (or any type of ground meat if you wish to make a more traditional pastitsio), garlic, mint, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice and set the sauce to simmer until thickened then remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat over to 425 F.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs along the bottom of an oiled casserole or lasagna pan. Completely cover the bottom of with a layer of pasta and dust with breadcrumbs. Cover this layer with the tomato and seitan mixture completely, then cover with another layer of pasta. Pour the béchamel over top, making sure to completely cover the top layer of pasta. If you have left over pasta, you should have used a deeper pan (3 inches deep). Sprinkle the grated cheese over top, then bake at 425 F for 45 minutes or until the béchamel browns.

See my Makaronia me Besamel recipe for a simple béchamel sauce.

Serve generous portions to friends, family, and guests with a glass of ouzo or raki and a side of horta. Καλή όρεχη!