The Venezuelan pasticho is the name of the lasagna in Venezuela, the name of pasticho is of Venezuelan origin.
It is a variety of lasagna that has been made for more than 150 years. The pasticho in Venezuela is a very special meal that many families enjoy at their family dinners.
Although it is not a traditional Venezuelan dish, it has become a custom for the whole family to gather to eat and prepare this Italian dish -clearly adapted to the local palate- that has become one of the hallmarks of our cuisine. Each person gives his personal touch adding ham or fried banana, whatever the extra, no one can resist him.
It is a strong dish that is usually eaten in winter or cold periods of spring, it is served in slices, in addition to also being called a dish that has pasta in sheets interspersed with meat (ragu or bolognese sauce) and bechamel called lasagna baked (lasagna al forno).
This dish is of Greek / Italian origin. Baked lasagna can also be made with vegetables (spinach, eggplant, etc.) or fish. It ends with béchamel and abundant grated cheese to gratinate it in the oven. Both dishes have Italy as their place of origin.
The word "lasagna" comes from the Greek "lasanon", through the Latin "lasanum", which refers to the saucepan in which it was cooked. The singular word in Italian is lasagna and in the plural lasagne it is applied indistinctly to the plate or to the pasta in the form of sheets. I'm crazy about a good pastiche and to get it we need a well-prepared béchamel sauce:
Bechamel sauce
INGREDIENTS:
2 liters of milk
½ medium onion
3 scent brads
2 sheets of dried laurel
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons of margarine
Nutmeg freshly ground to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Place a pot over low heat with a liter and a half of milk to heat with the half onion which we will place the 3 scented sticks and the two bay leaves, let it boil and lower the heat, then we add the rest of the milk cold with the three tablespoons dissolved cornstarch and mix constantly with a wooden spoon, when we begin to see how thick we add the nutmeg salt and pepper and mix well, the sauce should be very thick and this we will know when in the spoon stick is a very thick capita, we finally add the 3 tablespoons of margarita and mix well, turn off and reserve. Once it is ready, so that we can have that expected pastiche we have to make a good Bolognese sauce:
INGREDIENTS BOLOÑESA SAUCE :
1 ½ Kg ground beef
2 paprika in small cubes (brunoix)
2 medium onions in small cubes (brunoix)
2 tablespoons of garlic liquefied in oil
Oregano ground or in leaves
Fresh basil
2 cans of peeled, liquefied and cast tomato
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of margarine or butter
PREPARATION:
We fry the meat a little, then add the onion, garlic and paprika and when the onion crystallizes, add the previously liquefied and strained tomato, let it cook for half an hour, then add the oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for another 15 minutes over medium heat, add the fresh basil and cook for 10 minutes more covered and correct salt and pepper, if necessary add two tablespoons of butter or margarine to lower the acidity of the sauce.
And once ready the two sauces, to prepare the long-awaited pastiche, enjoy it, this is the Venezuelan.
VENEZUELAN PASTICHO
INGREDIENTS:
½ kg of pasticho- pasta (serving for 15 diners)
3 liters of Bolognese sauce
2 liters of bechamel sauce
½ kg sliced leg ham
½ kg of yellow cheese sliced
1/5 kg of grated Parmesan cheese
½ kg of bacon in cubes
Aluminum foil
Butter or daisy to spread the molds
PREPARATION:
Preheat the oven to very high heat, place a pot with enough water and a teaspoon of salt and when it boils cook the pasta for about 5 minutes, remove it and place it in a cup with plenty of cold water and be careful not to stick and reserve to put together the Pasticho.
We began to spread the mold with a little butter or margarine.
A cup of bechamel in the bottom of the mold and distribute it so that the whole bottom is covered by the béchamel sauce, then we put the first layer of pasta of Pasticho, 2 cups of sauce of Bolognese water well with a spoon so that it is well covered the pasta, a layer of yellow cheese, covering the entire layer of Bologna and another layer of pasta.
We continued with a cup and a half of béchamel, two cups of Bologna, we bacon and covered with another pasta.
We follow a cup and a half of béchamel, 2 cups of bologna, leg ham covering the whole surface of bologna and another of pasta.
To finish a cup and a half of béchamel and abundant parmesan cheese well distributed on the surface.
We cover with paper