Pumpkin And Feta Pastitsio

Posted 2014-11-13 by finy ⇒ follow

Pastitsio is a Greek and Mediterranean baked pasta dish which can include ground beef and béchamel sauce in its best-known form.

In this recipe, I have made it as a vegetarian meal substituting pumpkin for the meat.

This recipe is quite easy to make and the sour cream, pumpkin and feta cheese go very well together giving it a slight "tangy" taste.

The pistachio kernels add another interesting flavour to this unusual dish.

I made a salad with cabbage, apple, and walnuts to eat with it.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients
225g dried penne pasta
About 600g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut
Clove of garlic
300g Greek yoghurt
125g feta, crumbled
2 eggs
pinch of nutmeg
2tbsp pistachio kernels

Method

Cut the pistachios finely.

Preheat oven to 160° fan forced.

Cook the pasta as per package instructions and leave to drain.

Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin and garlic in a saucepan of boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender.

Drain and return to pot and mash.

Combine the yoghurt, feta, eggs and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Season and stir in the mashed pumpkin.

Grease a springform (about 18-20cm) and spread one-quarter of the pumpkin mixture over the base of this prepared tin.

Top with about a third of the pasta. If you have the patience, put the pasta facing the same way with holes facing to edge and it will look great when finished.