Fry the beef and pork together until nice and brown. Place in a bowl and pour the stock over to keep your meat moist. The meat will absorb the flavours of the stock.
Finely shop your onions, carrot and celery and fry over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until softened.
In the meantime, put your milk, bay leaf, dry sage, black peppercorns and ½ an onion in another saucepan and place on a low heat to let the flavours infuse.
Once your veg has softened, add the tomato paste and cook out for about a minute.
Add the meat and stock to the veg mix. Add your cinnamon sticks and bay leaf. Mix well and cook over a low heat for an hour. (20 minutes will do if you're short on time, but an hour is better if you can).
To make the bechamel:
Melt your butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Gradually add the milk and stir until thickened. Add your cheese and stir in until it melts.
Cook your pasta for about 7 minutes – it needs to remain firm.
Build your pastitsio. Place your pasta in the bottom of the lasagne dish, then your ragu (meat mix), don't forget to remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaf, and then the cheese sauce.
Grate a little parmesan over the top and cook in pre-heated oven at 170° for about 40 minutes.
Leave to settle before serving with a nice green salad
Recipe by Colleen Ramsey (Colleen Ramsey: Bywyd a Bwyd).
