egyptian baked pasta

One of Egypt&#039;s Iconic dishes, a comforting meal with layers of pasta, savory meat sauce and rich béchamel. It&#039;s like a Pastitsio cousine, only better as it done much simpler with easy to find ingredients in almost half the time. It&#039;s that kind of food that nourishes the soul as much as the body.

Macarona Bechamel (Egyptian Baked Pasta)

box Penne pasta

Tablespoon oil (any light tasting oil will work)

salt and black pepper (to taste)

Tablespoons oil (any light tasting oil will work)

onion

tomato paste

beef

cinnamon

unsalted butter

oil (any light tasting oil will work)

all purpose flour (, about 12 Tablespoons)

milk

chicken broth

Salt and black pepper. (to taste)

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 Pasta:

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.

Cook minced meat:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and butter. Wait until butter melts then add flour and whisk for 1- 1 1/2 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

Make the béchamel sauce:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Pour about 3/4 cup of the béchamel sauce over the cooked pasta and mix well.

Spread another 1/2 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.

Assemble the dish and bake:

I thought that I would give this recipe a go as we do enjoy  Greek Pastitsio. This recipe was rather bland as it was without the magical spices and flavours of the Greek version that I usually prepare. I would have reduced the amount of pasta used  for a softer consistency. Popular with little ones  but needed to take the flavours up a notch, omitting egg, adding a little cheese and  warm spices.

Dear Amira, 

Do you have any ideas on how to make a mini-bechamel for two people? It is just my husband and I and we really miss bechamel but it's too much for us (especially in Ramadan haha) Thank you always for your perfect recipes

Sommer

An excellent recipe, followed it exactly and turned out just how I remember it. Thank you so much.

One of my favorites when I'm in Egypt.I have a request can you please post the recipe for roqaaq bel lahma that's another favourite but here in south Africa we don't get the dried roqaaq.shukran ukthi

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1550460860/zpfgza2gelk96k4rq8ak.mp4

EGYPTIAN BAKED BECHAMEL PASTA : A MASTERPIECE
Ladies and gentlemen, pasta lovers,  may I present to you, the Egyptian version of baked pasta with bechamel. One of life’s true pleasures, a comfort food that only pasta lovers will appreciate. Layers of pasta and – a little tangy – ground beef stacked together then topped with thick, brown and bubbly bechamel sauce that is not runny but not dry too … what else can you look for?!!. This is a very common dish in Egyptian banquets specially in holidays.

EGYPTIAN BAKED BECHAMEL PASTA : A MASTERPIECE

Top 1 egyptian baked pasta recipes from across the web

The most viewed egyptian baked pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Macarona Bechamel (Egyptian Baked P...

Top 1 egyptian baked pasta recipes from across the web

The most viewed egyptian baked pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Macarona Bechamel (Egyptian Baked P...

The most viewed egyptian baked pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine