Pastitsio Coach House Restaurant New York Recipes

PASTITSIO IV

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook garlic, onions and beef until meat is browned; drain fat. Add tomatoes, pepper and oregano. Stir and cook about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese.
• Lightly coat a casserole or baking dish with olive oil and spread 1/2 the cooked pasta in it. Add the meat sauce and cover with the remaining pasta.
• Melt butter in a saucepan and blend in flour. Slowly add milk, stirring almost to boiling. In a bowl, blend remaining parmesan cheese and egg yolk and slowly add to the milk sauce, stirring constantly.
• Pour sauce over macaroni and bake for 30 minutes. Top should be golden and a little crispy.

PASTITSIO, COACH HOUSE RESTAURANT NEW YORK

Steps:

• In a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat saute' onion in 3 tablespoons butter until tender. Add garlic; saute' two minutes. Add meat; cook over high heat, breaking up pieces, until browned. Add tomato sauce, wine, parsley, bay leaf, oregano, basil, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook sauce about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until most of liquid has been absorbed. Discard bay leaf; set sauce aside.
• In medium saucepan scald 6 cups cream and the milk. Meanwhile in heavy 5-quart saucepan melt remaining 1 cup butter. With wire whisk stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in hot cream-milk mixture, stirring constantly to prevent lumping. Cook and stir about 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick and smooth. Season with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and with pepper and nutmeg to taste. Remove from heat; let sauce cool 10 minutes. In bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining 1 cup cream. Gradually beat about 2 cups warm cream sauce into egg mixture. Return egg mixture to cream sauce; stir until blended.
• Grease 1 large shallow baking pan (7-quart capacity) or two 13 x 9-inch baking dishes. Spread half of macaroni in pan; sprinkle with half of Romano. Cover with half of cream sauce, smoothing it with back of large spoon. Spread on all of meat sauce. Top with layer of remaining macaroni, cream sauce and grated cheese. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 55 minutes or until covered with golden-brown crust. To serve in neatly cut squares, finish cooking at least 6 hours before serving. Let stand at room temperature; if day is warm, refrigerate. Cut in serving portions. To reheat, cover pan with foil; bake in preheated 350 degree oven 30 minutes or until heated through. Makes 12 generous servings.
• Final Note: If the 400 degrees temperature seems too high, lower your oven temperature. (I bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes). But again the temperature of 400 degrees is as the recipe appeared in the magazine. I am typing this from the original page, ripped from the 1983 magazine. The above 12 servings is correct according to the recipe, for the entire 7 quart casserole. Keep in mind that these are high end restaurant servings and apparently the portions are huge.
• But my experience has been that half the recipe is 12 servings. That is one 9 x 13 pan.

NIKKI'S PERFECT PASTITSIO

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss with butter; add grated Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles; drain. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in tomato sauce, salt and cinnamon; heat through. Spoon over pasta. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese., In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened., In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Pour over beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese., Bake, covered, 20 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 30-40 minutes longer or until golden brown.,

THE COACH HOUSE'S BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Wash beans in a colander. Put in a bowl. Cover with cold water and let soak overnight, refrigerated.
• Drain and wash again.
• In a large casserole, combine drained beans with the 3 quarts of water. Cover and simmer for 90 minutes.
• In a heavy kettle, saute bacon a few minutes, then add celery and onion and cook until tender. Do not brown.
• Add beef bones, ham shank, remaining herbs and vegetables and pepper. Add beans and their cooking liquid. Cover and simmer for 3-4 hours, until beans are very tender. Add more water if necessary.
• Remove bones and ham. Puree soup in a food mill. Return to pot, add Madeira and chopped eggs. Mix well and serve.