Macarona Bechamel (Egyptian Baked Pasta)
One of Egypt's Iconic dishes, a comforting meal with layers of pasta, savory meat sauce and rich béchamel. It's like a Pastitsio cousine, only better as it done much simpler with easy to find ingredients in almost half the time. It's that kind of food that nourishes the soul as much as the body.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 261kcal
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce box Penne pasta
- 1 Tablespoon oil any light tasting oil will work
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the meat mixture:
- 2 Tablespoons oil any light tasting oil will work
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the bechamel sauce:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup oil any light tasting oil will work
- ¾ cup all purpose flour , about 12 Tablespoons
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- Salt and black pepper. to taste
Optional:
- 1 large egg
Instructions
Cook Pasta:
- Cook pasta according to package directions, try to make it a bit al dente as it will continue cooking in the oven.
- Drain, then add a tablespoon of oil to the pasta and stir to combine. Check the seasoning of the pasta, adding more salt and pepper if you like. Set aside
Cook minced meat:
- In a pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, then sauté onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground meat and brown.
- Drain fat and stir in tomato paste. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes more. Season with cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
Make the béchamel sauce:
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and butter. Wait until butter melts then add flour and whisk for 1- 1 ½ minutes.
- Add the liquids gradually, one cup at a time whisking vigorously as the sauce will thicken.
- Keep cooking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens enough to cover the back of a spoon and does not disappear when you make a path with your finger.
- Set aside
Assemble the dish and bake:
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Pour about ¾ cup of the béchamel sauce over the cooked pasta and mix well.
- Spread another ½ cup of the béchamel sauce evenly at the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Spread half the pasta over, then layer the entire meat mixture over the pasta. Top that with the remaining pasta and level.
- Crack an egg, if using, over the remaining béchamel sauce and whisk well.
- Pour the béchamel over the pasta and spread evenly.
- Bake in the oven for almost 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg