Heat the olive oil in a large pan (with high sides) over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and begin to break it up. Fry the ground meat for about 10 minutes or until it begins to pop. The water should completely evaporate and the pan should be dry.

When the water has evaporated, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onions. Add in the garlic and stir. Add the oregano, paprika, salt, pepper and stir.

Add in the red wine and let it evaporate by cooking it for another few minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add in the tomato sauce and cook the sauce for 10-20 minutes on low heat or until thick.

Take the meat sauce off the heat, stir in ¼ cup grated Mozzarella cheese as it acts as a binder (you can omit, it's optional). Let the meat sauce cool and thicken.

While the meat sauce is cooking or cooling, you can get started on the béchamel sauce.

On medium heat, add the butter to a big pot and let it melt completely.

Stir in the flour, it should look like a thick paste. Switch to a whisk and gradually add in the milk as you vigorously whisk the whole time.

Once the milk has finished whisk for a few more minutes until the sauce has fully thickened as you stir the whole time. It should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Take it off the heat.

Next, add the salt and stir in the Parmigiano Cheese (or Kefalotyri). Nutmeg is also traditional but we leave it out.

Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the egg yolks quickly. Place the lid on and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

In boiling salted water, boil the Greek pastitsio pasta until al-dente. We like to boil it for about 6 minutes from the boiling point.

When the pasta is boiled, strain the water and add a drizzle of olive oil to the pasta. Then add in 2 room temperature whisked egg-whites and stir it well immediately so that the pasta gets fully coated.

Pour the pasta out into a large rectangular baking dish with higher sides. We like to take the tongs and turn each pasta noodle all in one direction.

Add a handful of grated mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta.

Pour the meat sauce onto the pasta making sure to cover the pasta fully and smooth it out.

Pour the béchamel sauce on top and smooth it out. Top with grated mozzarella.

Bake UNCOVERED at 400F (200C) until golden and bubbly, about 40-60 minutes. Let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes and enjoy!