Arrivederci Lasagna! Open your heart, mind, and mouth to Greek Pastitsio

This is a painting of the village of Vlahokerasia by the artist Peter Contis, 

who was a friend of my husband's great-grandparents.  

The dots do not appear on the original painting.

Anastassios
Demitrios
Kolovos

My husband's maternal lineage can be traced back to a small village in Greece, Vlahokerasia, on the Greek Peloponnesus between Tripoli and Sparta.  His great-grandfather, Anastassios Demitrios Kolovos was just 16 years old when he immigrated to the U.S. after half of his family perished during a plague of smallpox that struck the village during the olive harvest. Anastassios settled in Pittsburgh, PA where his uncle had already established himself with a succesful restaurant.  


Anastassios went on to be a successful businessman himself and raised a family that included my husband's grandfather, Anastasios Robertos (later changed to Ernest, and known by his friends as "Bob").  Bob, himself, had a fascinating career which included work in the U.S. Military's earliest experiments with LSD in the 1950s.  Bob passed away a few years ago, and I'm honored and happy to have had the opportunity to get to know him.  


By the time I met Bob, he had long since retired from the military, from engineering, from pursuing his numerous PhDs, and from his passion for cooking.  My husband's grandmother speaks often of the wonderful things that Bob used to cook.

This photo is one of the focal points of my collection of wedding ephemera.  

In the picture are Sarantos and Banyota Michelopolos who were Bob's god-parents.

Several years ago, I asked Grandma what her favorite dish was that Bob used to cook.  I was intrigued to learn that it was a dish called Pastitsio ~ a dish from the Greek homeland, and perhaps even a specialty in one of Anastassios's Pittsburgh restaurants.  Unfortunately, the family recipe was never written down.  So I set about the task of learning about Pastitsio in order to create a new family recipe.  After several batches, I earned the approval from Grandma that I had hit the mark!

This dish reminds me of a cross between a lasagna and a moussaka.  The flavors are complex and the textures of the pasta, the creamy bechemel and the hearty meat sauce harmonize beautifully together.

Here is my new Kolovos family recipe:

Greek Pasta Casserole: PASTITSIO