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½ cup grated kefalotiri cheese or sharp Pecorino Romano

TO ASSEMBLE

Lamb Pastitsio

Flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs, as needed to sauté

Feta Macaronia

Extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons goat butter

3 ounces lobster mushrooms, washed, dried, and sliced

1 cinnamon stick

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

12 Thássos olives, cracked and pitted

3 cloves Garlic Confit (page 264)

Small handful picked sprigs fresh oregano

10 grape or pear tomatoes, halved

1 tablespoon very finely chopped fines herbes (dill, parsley, and/or chives)

Béchamel Sauce, warm

¼ cup pale yellow celery leaves

1½ ounces kefalotiri cheese, shaved

LAMB PASTITSIO

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Reduce the heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Sweat the vegetables until they are translucent. Add the lamb and cook until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Through a sieve, strain off all the fat and liquid. Discard the liquid and return the mixture to the pan.

Adjust the heat to medium-low and add the milk, stock, and herb sprigs. Simmer very gently until all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat, about 3 hours. If the liquid is totally absorbed before the meat is completely tender, adjust by adding more stock, little by little, just enough so the meat does not stick. (The goal is to reduce the liquid to a glaze without drying out the meat.)

Remove the remains of the herb sprigs. Spoon the mixture into a half sheet tray or 7 x 10-inch roasting pan to a thickness of 2 inches. Make sure to press all the air out of the meat and smooth the top, so it will cool perfectly flat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day. (The mixture must set for 24 hours to prevent it from breaking when sliced.)

FETA MACARONIA

Dehydrate the feta as directed on page 232. When the feta is hard and dry, pulse it in a food processor until grated. Measure out 2 cups of the dehydrated feta and reserve any that remains for another use.

In a food processor, combine the feta, milk, and durum flour; pulse until the mixture comes together on the stem. Remove to a floured board and knead for about 4 minutes. Wrap the dough and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day.

Roll the dough into a long cylinder, then roll out to flatten slightly. Ideally, crank the dough through the pasta extruder of a heavy-duty stand mixer to make a hollow, tube-shaped pasta like bigoli, perciatelli, or bucatini. Or, you can pass it through a pasta machine, setting the rollers down after each pass, to no. 5. Then, place the spaghetti attachment on the machine and pass the strip of dough through to make spaghetti. Reserve on parchment or freeze.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

In a large, heavy pot, warm a thin film of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, leek, garlic, and scallions, and cover the pan. Sweat the vegetables until tender and do not allow them to color.

Add the potato, milk, water, cloves, and cinnamon. Simmer just until the potato is cooked. Remove the cinnamon, and purée the mixture in a blender until smooth. Temper the eggs with a little of the warm sauce, and return the tempered egg mixture to the sauce. Stir in the nutmeg and kefalotiri. Reserve.

TO ASSEMBLE

With a 1½-inch ring mold, cut 20 disks of the Lamb Pastitsio. (Add the trimmings to the béchamel.) Dredge the disks in flour, then in egg, and finally in bread crumbs. Return to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Bring a pot of well-salted water to the boil for the Feta Macaronia.

In a very large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon each of the olive oil and the goat butter. When the butter foams, add the disks of breaded pastitsio and sauté on one side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip over and add the lobster mushrooms and cinnamon stick. Season liberally with kosher salt and pepper, and cook for about 2 minutes more. Add the olives, Garlic Confit, and oregano. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain it and add to the pastitsio mixture. Add the tomatoes to the mixture.