Pastitsio and Marmalade My Way

I discovered Pastitsio a couple weeks back, but didn't get a chance to try it until Saturday.  We sure liked it as an alternative to the typical tomato/red sauce lasagna recipes.  Spicing savoy dishes with cinnamon and nutmeg are uncommon in Western European/American fare, but very common from the Eastern Mediterranean into the Middle East.

Pastitsio

Often called "Greek Lasagna", Pastitsio belongs in the class of Baked Pasta dishes along with lasagna, baked ziti, etc. In this case, a layer of meat mixture between two layers of pasta, with a white sauce poured overall, then topped with cheese before baking.

Traditionally Pastitsio is made with ziti or similar small tube pasta to catch and hold the bechamel sauce. A couple years back, Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa from Food Network created a version using small shell pasta. My version combines small and large shells, and jar-ed alfredo sauce rather than making bechamel sauce from scratch.

16 ox box Large Shell pasta

8 oz Small Shell pasta

1-1/2 lbs Ground Sirloin - 90/10

2 jars Alfredo Sauce

1 White Onion, diced

1 tsp Cinnamon, ground

1 tsp Nutmeg, fresh ground

1/3 cup Panko or other bread crumbs

1/4 cup fresh Parsley, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata or similar olives,

1 14-16 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

8 oz shredded Parmesan (not the stuff in the round container)

8 oz Shredded Mixed Italian Cheese blend

Cook the pasta al dente to package directions. Brown the meat, remove from the pan; saute the onions in the same pan. Add the meat back, and add the tomatoes, spices, olives and parsley. Simmer about 15 minutes to marry the flavors. Add half of the bread crumbs to absorb the liquid remaining. Reserve.

When the pasta is cooked, drain, and then toss with one jar of the alfredo sauce. In a deep 9x13 baking dish, layer half of the pasta, then a thin layer of both cheeses, topped by the meat mixture. Add the rest of the pasta in a second layer. Pour the second jar of alfredo over the top and spread it out. Top with the remaining bread crumbs and cheese. Bake at 375-400F for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and crusty delicious. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting, to make sure everything is set in nice layers.

Try it, you'll love it -- rich and meaty and unctuous.....  I can hardly wait for leftovers for dinner tonight!

Marmalade My Way

I've talked about this before -- a year ago or more -- so I thought I'd give you a sort of photo-tutorial on making marmalade from any citrus fruit, or combination of citrus fruits, in ten minutes.

First pick your citrus fruit -- either literally like we can here in Florida, or from a grocery display. Any citrus fruit will do -- Ugly Fruit, Pommelo, Pink or White Grapefruit, assorted Lemons and Limes, Loquat, Kumquat, etc.    Mango and Starfruit and some of our other tropical fruits unfortunately don't work with this method -- not enough pectin in the skin.   You can add up to, say, 25% non-citrus fruit -- I often add a starfruit to the blend -- but you may want to add a bit of extra skin for the added pectin.  I often freeze 'juiced-out' lemons for exactly that purpose.

For a pint you'll want a largish grapefruit, or a naval orange plus a lemon and a lime, or 2-3 oranges, or 5-6 lemons... you get the point.  A pint lasts most families a month or so.

The only other ingredient is sugar. White, light brown, dark brown, demerarra, piloncillo, it doesn't matter;  although darker sugars may not make as pretty marmalade. You can also use Splenda tm if you're diabetic or otherwise watching your sugar intake.

Chop your fruit into finger tip size pieces -- skin, pith, juice seeds and all. Here I used ordinary lemons.  The skin contains most of the pectin, which is what makes marmalade set up. Skin in the jam also give you that essential marmalade look.

Put the fruit in a blender or food processor and take it for a spin.

 Don't go for a puree; you want that "look" with the pea or small sized bits of rind.

Measure the proto-marm into a microwave-safe glass bowl. 

Don't use a plastic bowl unless you want to clean out the inside of your microwave! Trust me on that...  Add the same measure of sugar -- cup for cup, and stir to combine. Taste the result. Too tart, add a bit more sugar. Too sweet, add a bit more fruit.

Microwave the fruit/sugar mix on high for a total of 10 minutes. I usually do 5 and 5, and give things a stir in between.

CAREFULLY remove the scaldingly hot bowl from the microwave, and ladle the marmalade into screwtop jars -- Mason tm jars or washed out pickle jars or what-have-you. Taking the jar hot from a cycle in the dishwasher is probably the most sanitary and mold free; but at least wash and rinse the jar just before filling it.

Leave the filled jar set, covered with a tea towel or paper towel, until the jar cools to room temperature. Why?  To keep random airborne molds from settling in there and creating a science experiment for you!  Then seal the jar and store in the fridge. It will last a couple months in the fridge, or until you use it up, whichever happens first.