Venezuelan Pasticho Recipe

Venezuelan pasticho is a variation on the classic meat lasagna recipe. Made with tomato, meat and béchamel sauce, this homemade pasticho is a delight that everyone at home will love. Don’t be scared by the number of steps, because although it is an elaborate process, the recipe is very easy. Follow the instructions and have a great time.

Ingredients to make Venezuelan Pasticho:

• 4 units of tomato
• ½ unit of red paprika
• ½ onion unit
• 2 garlic cloves
• 350 grams of fried tomato
• 1 tablespoon of Oregano
• 1 pinch of salt
• 500 grams of ground beef
• 200 grams of mozzarella cheese
• 100 grams of Mental Cheese
• 1 package of precooked pasta sheets (for lasagna or pasticho)
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• Béchamel sauce
• 4 tablespoons of wheat flour
• 4 tablespoons of Butter
• 1 teaspoon of Nutmeg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 glass of milk

How to make Venezuelan Pasticho:

1. The first step in making the famous Venezuelan pasticho is to make the béchamel sauce.
2. If you prefer, you can buy it already ready and otherwise, mix all the ingredients over the heat and stir constantly until you get a slightly thick sauce and reserve.
3. Next it’s time to make the tomato sauce.
4. To do this, first cut the tomatoes finely or in brunoised, which are tiny squares.
5. Also cut the rest of the vegetables. Finely slice the onion and paprika and slice the garlic. Set aside a couple of pieces of paprika.
6. Heat a pan with oil and make a sauceof tomato, onion, pepper and garlic. Do not add any salt.
7. After a few minutes, add the oregano and ground cumin. Stir well and mix the spices into the sauce.
8. When the sauce is ready, leave a small part of it in the pan to make the meat.
9. Put the rest in the blender and blendwith the reserved paprika pieces and the fried tomato.
10. Place the sauce in a pot and cook over medium heat forabout 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and add salt or sugar if you consider it necessary. Sugar is used to reduce the acidity of the tomato.
11. To make the meat, add it to the pan where the rest of the untraded sauce is and cook over medium heat.
12. Stir well and continue cooking until the meat is done. Check the seasoningand correct if necessary.
13. With all the preparations ready, now it’s time to assemble the pasticho.
14. To do this, place a first layer of béchamel sauce and a couple of butter nuts in a Pyrex or special oven mold, as seen in the photo.
15. Then place the pasta sheets. Leave a separation of approximately one finger between each sheet.
16. The Venezuelan pasticho is very juicy so take care of the spaces.
17. Now it is the turn of the meat, add a tablespoon of meaton each of the pasta sheets.
18. To finish the first layerof the meat pasticho, add a tablespoon of tomato sauce and finish with a little cheese.
19. Make a mixture of the two cheeses and reserve half of the mental cheese for the fine gratin.
20. Cover this first layer with other pasta sheets and repeat the operationuntil you finish all the ingredients. Remember to keep the separations and be generous with the béchamel sauce.
21. For the end, after the tomato sauce, add again a generous layer of béchamel and finish with a layer of cheeseand the rest of the mental cheese.
22. You can substitute the mental cheese for any cheese that is special for gratin. Also add a couple of butter nuts.
23. Cover the pasticho with aluminum foil and take it to a preheated oven at 200º C.for 30 minutes.
24. After this time, remove the aluminum foil and raise the temperature a few degrees to finish grilling.
25. After another 5-10 minutes it should be ready.
26.  To check it you can stick a knife in the lasagnaand verify that it comes out clean; this will indicate that the pasta is already cooked.
27. Let it rest for a couple of minutes and serve the delicious Venezuelan pastichofor lunch. Accompany with a piece of bread and a capers salad.