The Nation's Health

Wild Mushroom Pastichio

This week's weekly menu got a little mixed up... mainly because one of my center dishes made so much food. I did freeze some, but still ended up having plenty of leftovers. They are all equally delicious!


This week's main items:
Brie Stuffed Pumpkin Crust Pizza
Buckwheat Porridge
Wild Mushroom Pastichio

The pizza is one of my all time favorites! The porridge was not necessarily healthy, but I used up some evaporate and sweetened condensed milk that I had. And of course it tasted amazing!

And last but certainly not least, Wild Mushroom Pastichio from Cooking Light. Pastichio is a traditional Greek pasta dish with penne type noodles in bechamel sauce and a tomato meat sauce layered between the noodles. This version takes a twist by adding wild mushrooms - which I hadn't used much of before, and now find I really like! And yes, I did make the bechamel sauce myself - I'd never done it before, but it was super easy.

Photo Credit from MyRecipes

Ingredients

1c chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 (oz) pkg sliced wild or exotic mushroom blend, chopped
1T chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 T all-purpose flour
2 c low-fat milk
1 1/2 c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
4 c hot cooked rotini pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a stir fry pan over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; saute for 3 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms. Cook for another 8 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, nutmeg, and tomato sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently and set aside off of heat.

Combine eggs and parsley in a large bowl. Heat 1 tsp olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle flour evenly into pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Gradually add milk to flour mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook 2 mintes or until thickened - stirring frequently. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1 c cheese. Gradually add hot milk mixture to eggs (careful not to scramble the eggs), stirring constantly with a whisk. Add pasta to mixture and toss to combine.

Spread about 2 cups pasta mixture into 11x7 in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with mushroom mixture. Top with remaining pasta and cover with foil coated. Bake at 350F for 30 mintes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c cheese.

Preheat broiler to low heat. Broil 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 15 minutes before diving in.

Enjoy!