When I ask my hubby and kids what they want me to cook, often their answer is “Pastitsio!”. Well, it’s always something that involves pasta that is on the top of their list.
It is rather time-consuming; however, with proper planning, I manage to reduce the preparation time. I usually cook the mince a day before, and that definitely makes the process easier and faster.
As I was bored with the classic recipe, I decided to alter it a bit and voila: it’s an upside down pastitsio with chicken mince!
PS: Don’t get confused by the picture; I tried to find something as close to the original recipe because as soon as I sprinkled the herbs, the family invaded the kitchen and I just couldn’t take a photo.
Flipped Pastitsio with Chicken Mince
Here is an alternative recipe of my flipped pastitsio with chicken mince; impressive to see and equally tasteful to eat.
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds ground chicken (minced chicken)
2 large Portobello mushrooms - finely chopped
1 pound spaghetti - Bucatini No3
¾ cup olive oil
2 medium red pepper (red capsicum) - finely chopped
1 stalk leek - finely chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter- 1 tsp unsalted butter - to grease the pan
½ cup gruyere cheese - grated
½ cup cheddar cheese - grated
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons parsley - finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill - finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt - or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper - or to taste
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Drain and set aside.
- Use a frying pan to sauté the mushrooms in half of the olive oil until they become soft and the liquids evaporate. Then place them in a bowl and set them aside.
- Use the remaining olive oil in the same frying pan, sauté the peppers, and leek for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic cloves, stir for 1 minute and add the minced meat. Continue to sauté for 10 minutes until the meat changes colour.
- Add salt and pepper, the mushrooms and stir.
- Grease a large bowl with butter.
- At the bottom of the bowl, roll a spaghetti into a spiral. Continue with the next piece of spaghetti, making circles until you reach 1 cm below the bowl rim. That way the bottom and sides of the bowl will be covered.
- Leave it in the fridge until the butter freezes and the spaghetti stay in place firmly.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Remove the bowl from the fridge (make sure the spaghetti hold together).
- Add the cheese and eggs to the meat mixture, blend and fill the bowl.
- Roll the remaining spaghetti into spirals so that the filling is covered.
- Use a baking tray with a diameter equal to the bowl’s and put some beans or rice in it to stay in place.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes.
- Flip it over onto a serving platter, sprinkle with the chopped dill and parsley on top and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 1142kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 52gFat: 69gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 35gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 248mgSodium: 864mgPotassium: 1203mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1219IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 403mgIron: 4mg
How did this recipe turn out for you?We’re eager to hear your thoughts!
