Pastitsio ala Italian and Rome Snapshots

Pastitsio ala Italian is a twist I made to the classic Greek dish, substituting some of the traditional ingredients we use in Greece with Italian ones.

What is Pastitsio ala Italian?

Pastitsio is a traditional Greek dish that consists of layers of pasta and a ground meat filling, typically made with veal or pork mince, mixed with spices and herbs.

The pasta and meat are baked together in a casserole dish, and the dish is typically topped with a creamy white sauce made from béchamel and eggs.

The final product is a savory, hearty, and comforting dish that is often served as a main course for lunch or dinner.

It is a popular dish in Greece and Cyprus, which is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Pastitsio is typically served with boiled leafy greens or a salad, and it can also be accompanied by some feta cheese.

What does Pastitsio ala Italian mean?

Ala or "À la" is a French phrase that means "in the style of" or "according to the manner of." It is used to indicate that something is being prepared or served in a particular way or style.

Our trip to Rome

It’s almost a week since we came back from our trip to Italy and I was really busy to post, as a lot of things had to be done after we returned.

We had a great time and I wanted to share some of the shots from Rome. This was not an easy job having to choose from about 1.000 photos.

When we returned, I made Pastitsio, but this time I made a twist to the traditional Greek recipe, using a sauce, similar to Bolognaise sauce, with ground chicken, ziti pasta and of course used some of the Italian cheese we bought.

Italian cheese

I used the cacciocavallo cheese, by sprinkling some on the pasta before adding the meat sauce, some in the bechamel and of course some on top.  It was delicious!

Before going to the recipe, I would like to share some of the pictures I took.

The Tiber River

Fountains: Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Navone, Barberini (Tritone), Spanish Steps

Statues and monuments

One of the extremely enjoyable benefits of blogging is getting to meet other bloggers whose work I respect.

We met Natalia, of Gatti, fili e Farina and her husband Andrea and had a great time together.

Natalia showed us around in the Vatican on one day and another day she showed us around from Piazza di Venezia towards the Ghetto (Jewish neighbourhood), Galeria Spada, Piazza di Fiori, where she helped me choose some cheeses (buffalo mozarella, caccio, gorgonzola picante and another one with peppers, I am not sure about the name. 

We ended in a pub serving forty different kinds of draught beer and some delicious appetizers.

 

Rome: a tour in the Jewish Ghetto of Rome

You probably all know that Rome is the city of architecture with so many beautiful buildings, fountains, piazzas etc.

We visited most of the important monuments but there is still more to see, so we will have an excuse for another trip in the future.

The Vatican

Art

The Italian people were fantastic and all the people we asked for instructions were more than willing to give explanations and very polite.

I have seen a lot of similarities between Greeks and Italians and it is no wonder that Italians and Greeks have a saying "Una Faccia Una Razza", in Greek we pronounce it “Una fatsa una razza” and literally, it means "one face one race" and refers to similarities to our culture, history and manners.

What can I say about the food and wine. Everything was delicious, especially the pasta dishes and I enjoyed a glass of chianti with every meal.

The Pantheon

The Colosseum

Campo de Fiori

Italian food

I could not resist trying the gelato with so many flavour to choose from and some tiramisu!!

Other relevant recipes:

Pastitsio the Greek way
Pastitsio Lasagna

Makaronia tou Fournou (Pastitsio the Cypriot way

Pastitsio Lasagna with artichokes

Spaghetti Pastitsio with Anthotyro and Paprika

Vegan Pastitsio

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!