A delicious combination of roasted vegetables, pasta, and a creamy béchamel sauce.
Helena and Vikki Moursellas’ Roasted Capsicum and Eggplant Pastitsio
A delicious combination of roasted vegetables, pasta, and a creamy béchamel sauce.
Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment, Sydney-based cookbook authors and twin sisters Helena and Vikki Moursellas share their recipe for a roasted pepper and eggplant pastitsio.
When it comes to making a heartwarming meal, it's hard to look past filling dishes like pasta bake. And Helena and Vikki Moursellas’ Pastitsio is a frontrunner for being your new comfort food of choice.
This classic Greek baked-pasta dish traditionally consists of meat, but this vegetarian-friendly version utilises roasted capsicums and eggplants for a delicious flavour that won't disappoint. The béchamel sauce adds a rich creaminess while the pasta adds the carby goodness we all love.
It serves 6-8 so would be a delicious option for a dinner party or family gatherings.
Ingredients
- 2 (600g) medium red capsicums
- ½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 (500g) large eggplant, chopped into 1cm pieces
- 1 tbsp dried Greek oregano
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup (70g) tomato paste
- 80g pickled mini golden peppers in brine, drained, chopped
- 500g dried bucatini or Misko macaroni Greek pasta No.2
For the béchamel sauce
- 100g unsalted butter
- ½ cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
- 4 cups (1L) milk
- 50g Kefalograviera cheese, grated, plus extra to scatter
- 3 egg yolks
Method
Preheat the oven 200°C/180°C fan-forced.
Place capsicum on a lined baking tray with baking paper, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil.
Roast for 30-40 minutes or until the skin has completely blistered and blackened.
Place into a bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap. Sit for 15 minutes.
Carefully remove skins and discard, thinly slice and set aside until needed.
Meanwhile, heat ½ cup (125ml) oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, cook onion for 8-10 minutes or until softened.
Add garlic, eggplant, and oregano and cook for a further 15 minutes stirring occasionally or until lightly caramelised.
Season with salt and pepper, add tomatoes and paste and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir through sliced red peppers and golden peppers and set aside.
Boil pasta according to the packet instructions.
Drizzle with remaining oil and set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 180°C.
To make the béchamel sauce
Place a saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and heat until melted, add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Pour in the milk and add cheese, and yolks and season with salt and pepper.
Whisk, until thick and silky.
Assembling
Grease a 34cm x 24cm (3L) ovenproof baking dish.
Lay half the pasta lengthways into the baking dish.
Top the pasta with ⅓ of the bechamel, followed by half the roasted pepper and eggplant sauce, followed by the remaining pasta, ⅓ of the bechamel and the remaining roasted pepper and eggplant sauce. Finish with bechamel sauce.
Scatter with extra cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cheese is golden and melted.
