Macaroni bechamel - Food for all the family

As a travel agency in Egypt, we believe that discovering the local cuisine is an essential part of the cultural experience when visiting a new destination. One dish that we highly recommend trying is the mouthwatering Bechamel Pasta - a tasty Egyptian casserole with minced meat and bechamel sauce. Egyptians love bechamel! It’s one of the biggest calorific meals and that's probably why it's so appetizing. It is often referred to as a family dish as it’s so filling that a small amount is enough for the whole family.

Just don't be fooled by the fact that the casserole includes meat, meaning it's a main course. Not in Egypt! If women prepare bechamel, the rest of the household usually asks what will come next? "Yes, chicken in various forms is often served with such pasta.

The traditional Egyptian version usually has meat without the addition of tomato sauce, but in many homes the tomato version is served. Bechamel pasta could be the first pasta casserole in Egypt, from which other pasta dishes were born.

It is better to prepare it earlier and serve it lukewarm or make it the day before serving, and only heat it later, it will be much better to stick and it will not fall apart when you remove it from the dish.

Book Your Luxury Egypt Tour

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 pack of penne pasta (400 g)

- 400 g of minced meat

- 2 medium onions

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

- 1 liter of milk

- 8 tablespoons of flour

- 8 tablespoons of butter

- 1 egg

- spices: salt, pepper, hot pepper, nutmeg

- water

PREPARATION

1. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package in salted water. Then strain it in a sieve.

2. To prepare the minced meat, start by frying the onion, cut into small pieces. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic crushed through the press. After a while, add the meat and mix thoroughly.

When the meat is lightly fried, add salt, pepper and hot paprika as desired and tomato paste or a little tomato sauce. Mix everything and pour on water to cover the meat. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the meat is tender and the water is almost completely boiled.

3. Melt the butter in a large pot. Then add the flour and mix thoroughly so that no lumps are formed, but a smooth paste. Then we start to add the milk, stirring all the time.

After adding the milk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg as desired (a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper and half a teaspoon of scoop).

Cook the sauce until it starts to thicken. The density should be adjusted to your preferences. A denser sauce guarantees that the pasta will not fall apart. The longer we cook, the thicker the sauce will be.

4. Having prepared all the elements, put the dish together.

Pour the béchamel into the dish to cover the bottom.

Then put a layer of pasta (about half).

Then add minced meat and the second layer of pasta.

Finally, pour out the rest of the bechamel. The top layer of bechamel should be significantly larger than the bottom layer.

5. Put in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. After taking it out of the oven, let it cool down before eating or put it in the fridge and eat the next day. 

Enjoy your meal and the flavours of Egypt!

Always wanted to sample the flavours of Egypt. Check out our Egypt tours & enjoy amazing Egyptian cuisine in the land of the pharaohs!