🍝 Macarona bechamel

Name: Macarona bechamel
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Egypt
Ingredients: 500 g penne or tube pasta; 500 g minced beef; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper and allspice; 80 g butter; 80 g flour; 1 litre milk; Pinch of nutmeg

Origin: Egypt

721kcal

per serving · 350 g

206kcal

per 100 g

32 gProtein9 g / 100 g

35 gFat10 g / 100 g

70 gCarbs20 g / 100 g

Macarona bechamel is Egypt's beloved baked pasta: a layer of tube pasta, a layer of minced beef cooked with onion and spices, more pasta, and a thick blanket of béchamel made from butter, flour and milk. It is baked until the top is deep golden and set. The result is creamy, dense and filling, and it is cut into squares and served at family lunches and gatherings.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground beef

Not veganbecause of: ground beef, béchamel sauce, milk, butter

Contains glutenbecause of: pasta, béchamel sauce, flour

Contains dairybecause of: béchamel sauce, milk, butter

Not keto20 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Eggs ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

pastaground beefbéchamel saucemilkbutterflouronion

Recipe

6 servings75 min

Ingredients

500 g penne or tube pasta
500 g minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper and allspice
80 g butter
80 g flour
1 litre milk
Pinch of nutmeg

Method

Cook the pasta until just tender and drain.
Fry the onion in the oil, add the beef and cook until browned; season with salt, pepper and allspice.
For the béchamel, melt the butter, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk and cook until thick; season with salt and nutmeg.
Mix a third of the béchamel with the pasta. Layer half the pasta in a dish, spread the beef, cover with the rest of the pasta and pour over the remaining béchamel.
Bake at 200 °C for 30–35 minutes until golden, then rest 10 minutes before cutting.

How to make it lighter

Use lean minced beef and drain off the fat after browning.
Make a thinner layer of béchamel on top and cut smaller squares of about 250 g.
Serve with a large green salad to fill the plate.

History

Macarona bechamel is generally linked to the Greek and Italian communities that lived in Egypt in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it resembles Greek pastitsio. It has long since become a fixture of Egyptian home cooking, especially in Ramadan and on special occasions.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →