Pasticho Sundays were my favorite days at my “Tia Meche’s” house — my aunt Mercedes’. And the recipe comes directly from my grandma. My four aunts and my mom make the exact same delicious pasticho.
When I moved to Portugal, one of the first dishes that I prepared for my boyfriend was a big casserole of pasticho. My grandma always told me “love starts in the belly” and I must say she has wide wisdom. Until this day one of the favorite things that my boyfriend likes to eat is a big plate of pasticho and garlic bread.
How to make a Venezuelan pasticho ?
If you ever have made lasagna in your life, this recipe will be a lot easier for you.
Pasticho is basically an oven-baked casserole of layers of pasta, bolognese sauce, and bechamel sauce. Mozzarella cheese, ham, and parmesan cheese will add more substance and the cheesy stringy factor.
Now, for the new cookers out there, the key for a great pasticho is the bolognese sauce and the bechamel sauce. The combination of these two sauces is the soul of a good pasticho. The creaminess of the bechamel will balance the meaty and rich bolognese.
In this post I will teach you how to make both sauces from scratch, but if you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking you can use pre-made bolognese and bechamel. Of course, the flavor won’t be the same as homemade but I’m not a cooking snob. Honestly, this blog is “easy recipes for every day” and I pretend to stick to that. Choose the options that suit your cooking style better.
After that little disclaimer, here comes the recipe:
How to make a bolognese sauce from scratch?
The first thing is to cook the onions and the garlic with the olive oil over medium heat. This way the oil will be infused in the onion and garlic flavor. Let them cook for a couple of minutes. Stir constantly and watch closely to avoid burned garlic. As soon as it starts to get fragrant, it’s time for the next step.
Then add the ground meat. When the meat is no longer pink, add the crushed tomatoes, the milk and all the seasoning (basil, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar).
My two tips for a rich bolognese are the milk and the sugar. Both will cut the acidity of the tomatoes and will balance the sauce. These two simple ingredients have changed my bolognese game forever. You’ll get a richer and more flavorful result.
How to make a bechamel sauce from scratch?
A bechamel has a roux base, which is butter, flour and milk base.
First, melt the butter and cook the onion cut into slices until they are transparent, be careful of not burning the onions. Otherwise, you will have a bitter flavor in your bechamel.
Then add the flour and stir until you get a paste. Slowly pour the milk to create an homogeneous white sauce. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
The rest of the recipe is just assembling the pasticho. While layering the pasticho make sure that the pasta is soaked in both sauces to avoid any hard pasta spot. Finally, take to the oven for 30 minutes and you’ll get a super yummy Venezuelan pasticho.
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