Pastitsio, Dairy and Grain Free
My family—and they’re picky—loves this version and says it tastes the same as the original. That makes my Greek mama heart do a little syrto (Greek dance!) As a bonus, I’ve included a few clean-up shortcuts.
How many family traditions do you have? Are they food traditions? As you probably know by now, if you’ve read any of my previous posts here or on social media, my family was all about the food. Still is. Every holiday revolves around an extensive menu of family favorites. Pastitsio, which is rather inaccurately described as “Greek lasagna” (it doesn’t have cheese within the pasta layers) but close enough, I suppose. My mother used to say it takes every pan in the house to make one pan of pastitsio, and she wasn’t wrong. As I started cooking I found ways to “cheat” around certain steps to make clean up a little easier. It’s still a very involved recipe and takes time, but the results are worth it. And if you’re like me, you’ve had to live without the traditional version. Until now.
I actually developed this updated version of my mom’s traditional recipe when I discovered cassava pasta. The meat sauce is exactly the same, and I replaced the milk and cheese with coconut milk and nutritional yeast. The lemon zest cuts through the sweetness of the coconut milk and gives it a similar flavor profile as the traditional mizithra cheese, which is a hard, briny cheese, similar to parmesan.
If you’re feeling ambitious, or just missing the tradition of Greek Pastitsio, I highly recommend you give this a. try. My family loves it and claims virtually no difference to the original. Makes my Greek mama heart do a little syrto! (Greek dance!)
