Baked Pasta (Makaronia tou Fournou)

1983, Kofinou. It's autumn and my mother, working at the restaurant, is preparing her most sought-after recipe: Baked Pasta. We, the little rascals, cause a ruckus as we grab the boiled pasta and start eating, competing to see who can eat the fastest. My mother gets annoyed and puts us in order, assigning each of us a task. In no time, I find myself over a pot, stirring the pasta with the minced meat and some béchamel sauce. Then I divide it into baking pans and spread a rich layer of béchamel on top. This is how my mother still makes the baked pasta, and this is exactly how I make it too. And this was the first recipe I ever wrote down in my notebook about forty years ago, and it remains unchanged.