Description

Egyptian macarona bechamel (مكرونة بشاميل) is a comfort food recipe popular in Egypt made from penne pasta and a minced meat sauce baked with creamy béchamel. If you're not already familiar with it, you can think of it as an Egyptian pasta bake with bechamel sauce.

Ingredients

for the pasta

• 500g Penne pasta
• water
• a handful of salt

For the Meat Sauce

• 500g Ground beef
• 1 onion
• 1 ½ cup tomato sauce (canned and/or crushed tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

For the Béchamel Sauce

• 1 ½ cup flour
• 1 ½ cup butter
• 1 ½ litres milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

For the Assembly

• 1 cup grated mozzarella

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Boil the pasta in salted water until it's just undercooked. Drain and set aside.
3. For the meat sauce, sauté the onions in olive oil until they're translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the tomato sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
4. For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until it's a smooth paste. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and nutmeg. Cook until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
5. Assemble the macarona bechamel by layering the pasta, meat sauce, and béchamel sauce in a baking dish. Top with mozzarella.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
7. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.