{"product_id":"greek-pastitsio-ready-meal-350g","title":"Greek Pastitsio Ready Meal - Fresh, Never Frozen (350g)","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThe Sunday pasta bake of Greek home kitchens, in a single 350g tray\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePastitsio\u003c\/strong\u003e is what a Greek kitchen makes when it wants pasta to be the main course, not the first one: thick tubular durum wheat pasta laid flat in a tray, a fine minced meat sauce worked down into the tubes, béchamel poured over the top and baked until the surface colours. Amvrosia makes it in Thessaloniki the same way, in a 350g tray, and chills it rather than freezing it. Pasta is the largest ingredient at 32%, with 16,1% minced beef and pork of EU origin through the middle and 1,1% extra virgin olive oil in the sauce. What arrives is one sealed portion that has never been through a freezer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePasta is also the reason freezing does not work here. Thawed pasta softens, and the tubes lose the shape that holds the sauce, while chilled they stay firm enough that a slice cuts cleanly and the open tubes are visible in the section. The meat is ground deliberately fine so that it works into the pasta instead of sitting above it, and the béchamel sets into a thin golden top in the oven rather than separating. The seasoning is plain in the Greek sense: tomato, onion, parsley and olive oil, nothing sharp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 350g tray carries \u003cstrong\u003e25g of protein and 536 kcal\u003c\/strong\u003e, which puts it among proper main courses rather than snacks, with starch and meat arriving in the same tray. One thing is worth knowing before you open it: pastitsio is a pasta dish with a layer of meat, not a meat dish with pasta around it, and that ratio is the recipe rather than a shortcut. It is also what makes the format work midweek. One tray, one plate, one fork, four minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eNo preservatives, and chilled rather than frozen: how that works\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFresh food ordered online always raises the same question, which is how it keeps without either a freezer or a preservative. The answer here is the packaging. The tray is sealed in a protective atmosphere, and that is what keeps the dish without anything being added to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNo preservatives\u003c\/strong\u003e in the recipe. The ingredient list is the whole story.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKeep refrigerated below +7°C\u003c\/strong\u003e, and once opened, eat within 24 hours.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eNever frozen\u003c\/em\u003e at any point, which is why the pasta keeps its bite and the béchamel its texture. The use-by date is printed on the tray.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow to use it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOven, 180°C for 13 to 15 minutes\u003c\/strong\u003e once preheated. Pierce the film in two spots first; remove it before serving. This is the version with the crust.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMicrowave: 3 to 4 minutes at 800W\u003c\/strong\u003e, same piercing step. Faster, softer on top. Keep the tray clear of the oven element and the grill.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA weeknight main on its own, or half a tray as a first course before grilled meat or fish.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWith a green salad and \u003cem\u003ea piece of feta\u003c\/em\u003e, which is how it is eaten in Greece rather than with bread.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Amvrosia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":37195027710114,"sku":"GF5053","price":9.46,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7683\/4722\/files\/greek-pastitsio-ready-meal-fresh-never-frozen-350g-4339365.png?v=1788388225","url":"https:\/\/www.greekflavours.com\/en-uk\/products\/greek-pastitsio-ready-meal-350g","provider":"Greek Flavours","version":"1.0","type":"link"}