Baked pasta with meat sauce and béchamel (Pastitsio)

1. For the meat sauce, soften the finely chopped onion and garlic in the olive oil, add the minced beef and fry until crumbly; stir in the tomato purée, grated tomatoes, cinnamon and allspice, season and simmer for 30 minutes until thick.

2. Cook the macaroni in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet says, drain and toss with the butter and half of the grated kefalograviera.

3. For the béchamel, melt the butter, cook the flour in it for 1-2 minutes while stirring, then gradually add the warm milk and cook until smooth and thick; take off the heat and stir in the eggs and the remaining cheese.

4. Spread half the pasta in a buttered dish of about 25×35 cm, spread the meat sauce over it, then add the rest of the pasta.

5. Pour the béchamel on top, smooth it evenly and bake at 180 °C for about 50 minutes until golden on top.

6. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes so it can be cut into neat slices, and serve with a salad.

Tip: Kefalograviera is a hard Greek sheep's cheese; if you can't find it, use gruyère or parmesan. In Greece an egg white is often mixed into the pasta to help the layers stick together.