Pastice
Pastice is a pasta dish similar to baked macaroni and cheese, and it is always a hit with children. Feel free to substitute the cheeses we have listed with your favorite varieties. If you don’t want to use a mixture of cheeses, you can use just one variety. We typically use spaghetti pasta when we make pastice, but any shape of pasta works well.
Ingredients:
1 pound pasta
5 cups milk, divided
1 cup butter, divided
1 T flour
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 eggs
3 cups crumbled feta cheese (can substitute cheddar cheese)
1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese (or kashkaval)
½ t salt
Directions:
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the pasta should be half cooked. Drain, and set aside in a colander.
- Now prepare the sauce for the pasta. Melt ½ of the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour and butter come together in a golden paste, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk, and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2–3 minutes. Beat the egg yolks, and whisk these into the sauce, cooking for another minute.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and the egg whites. Stir in all of the cheese and the salt. Add the drained pasta and the remaining 3 cups of milk and gently mix.
- Evenly pour the pasta mixture into a baking pan. Carefully pour the cream sauce over the pasta. Poke some holes in the pasta with a spoon as you pour over the cream, this will help the sauce travel throughout the pasta mixture. Flatten and smooth the top of the pasta.
- Bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Serve warm.
