Greek noodle Casserole, (Pastitsio)

From the late blogger who will try to be more on time in December ( I am probably setting myself up for failure, but we'll see if, I can handle the pressure!) ...

I saw the recipe for a Greek casserole on Giada's Pinterest page. It looked great. I have to tell you, Giada's topping looked much better than mine. Frankly the photo of her casserole looked like roasted noodles on the top. I suspect she daubed the sauce with a spatula to lift the topping and create the look of a meringue as if it were fresh out of the oven. So you can try this tip if you want. So, onward...
My wife and daughter thought it was fantastic! I mentioned it to a new client who is looking for some custom built-ins and her eyes lit up, I took that as a good sign as she said Mrs. D. is one of her favorite chef's, and what was my favorite recipe of hers...
Since it contains yogurt,  I can't forget about little Sophie who is a big yogurt fan from way back. It is amazing the food she eats at 14 months. We used to chop it up so fine you would think we put in a food processor, but not these days. They almost eat the same texture foods we eat.
So anyway, back to the recipe at hand. I was a little skeptical with all  the yogurt and mint in the casserole. It's the guy thing I guess, but while I was putting the ingredients together and adding the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and the rest of the spices and finishing with the basil tomato sauce, I started realizing the depth and complexity of the casserole dish. In fact Ann (wife) took some to a Colombian co-worker who loved it. They both dubbed it "Greek Lasagna".  So, in my humble opinion, this casserole is fast and easy to make. Not to mention delicious.
Enjoy and be safe!
Mark
  Recipe kindness... giadadelaurentiis.com
 I have pasted the recipe from Mrs. De Laurentiis' website below for your convenience. The recipe is as follows...

greek noodle casserole (pastitsio)

ingredients

6 to 8 servings

Casserole Butter, for greasing the baking dish Kosher salt 12 ounces egg noodles 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 cloves garlic, chopped or smashed 1 pound ground lamb 2 tablespoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground allspice One 26-ounce jar tomato-basil sauce (3 ¼ cups) 1 ½ packed cups fresh mint leaves, chopped

Sauce 1 cup milk, at room temperature ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature 3 cups grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature ¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves, optional

instructions

Casserole Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the lamb, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and mint. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sauce Simmer the milk and cream over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the yogurt. Add the meat sauce to the pasta and toss well until the noodles are coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. Spoon the cheese sauce evenly on top and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped mint if using, and serve.