Baked penne with goji berries
and feta cheese bechamel

August 09, 2018

baked penne pasta, creative pasta recipe, goji berry pasta, feta mac n cheese

The Odd Fork found some forgotten goji berries in its kitchen and trying to avoid making the usual cookie or cake recipes with them, it decided to make a pasta dish -what else- which in the cooking process turned out a lot like the beloved Greek Pastitsio -only vegetarian and healthier!

If you also wish to try it, you ‘ll need:

For the goji berry tomato sauce:

- a tbsp of olive oil
- a medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- a small wine glass of Greek Rakomelo (or red wine if Rakomelo is not available)
- 70 grams of tomato paste
- a small carrot, grinded in the cheese grater
- some dried spearmint
- salt, pepper (both black pepper and non hot red paprika)
- a small, dried hot red pepper
- 2 whole cloves, 3 whole grains of allspice, half of a cinnamon stick
- 1/3 cup approximately, dried goji berries

In a small pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the Rakomelo or the wine and after a while the tomato paste dissolved into a big glass of water. Add all the remaining tomato sauce ingredients, cover and let it simmer for 20 - 30 minutes so that onion and carrot are tender.
Then remove the lid, increase the heat and allow sauce to thicken and reduce. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the vegetable - feta cheese "bechamel":

- a big carrot
- an onion
- a zucchini
- fresh dill
- a bay leaf
- some whole grains of black pepper, coriander and allspice
- 2 tbsps of olive oil
- 2 tbsps of all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of light evaporated milk
- some feta cheese finely chopped
- an egg
- salt (to taste), ground nutmeg

Boil together carrot, onion, zucchini, fresh dill, bay leaf, pepper, coriander and allspice grains. Strain, keeping though about a cup of the water.
Puree boiled carrot, onion and zucchini in your blender adding some of the water that you kept aside, so that a smooth, silky purée forms. Add in a clean pot 2 tbsps of olive oil and when it heats, add the flour stirring constantly. Continue to stir and add the vegetable puree. Lower the heat and stirring with a wooden spatula, allow the vegetable mixture to thicken.
Remove from heat and add the evaporated milk, feta cheese, pepper, ground nutmeg and salt (taste before adding the salt). Finally, add the egg and mix well. You should have a nice, smooth light green cream.

For the pasta:

- half a packet of whole wheat penne pasta (about 250 to 300 grams)
- a tbsp of olive oil
- 2 small cloves of garlic finely chopped
- half a bunch of fresh dill
- some feta cheese finely chopped

Boil the penne pasta al dente in salted water. Dip the dill for 1 - 2 minutes in the boiling water (you want it to soften, not to boil), chop it and mince it in a mortar grinder with the garlic and the olive oil -it is almost like making a dill pesto.
Strain the penne pasta and mix with the dill "pesto" and the feta cheese.
Arrange half the pasta mixture on a baking casserole, cover with the tomato - goji berry sauce, add the remaining pasta mixture and cover the top evenly with the light green vegetable "bechamel".
Bake in a preheated oven, at 400F, for about 30 - 45 minutes (depending on the oven).
Allow to cool for 30 - 45 minutes before serving, cut in squares and enjoy with red wine or beer!

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