You wouldn’t think that bechamel would be a culinary essential in Egyptian cuisine, but it is. Egyptians use bechamel sauce to bind vegetable casseroles and pasta dishes and use it as an accompaniment to meat.
My cousin-in-law Sharif taught me how to make macarona bechamel recently — which, I guess would be the equivalent of American baked ziti. It’s just layers of penne pasta and bolognese sauce with bechamel sauce ladled on top and baked in the oven. It’s super simple, but it’s an Egyptian classic.
Recipe:
-1 box of penne pasta, cooked
-2 cans tomato sauce
-6 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 lb ground beef
-1 onion, chopped
-4 c bechamel sauce
-a deep baking dish
-egg yolk, beaten
Bechamel:
I don’t have an exact recipe, but here’s one from the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/classic-bechamel-white-sauce-recipe/index.html
All I can say is that it takes a lot of stirring. Double the amount of bechamel for the recipe above. And be careful not to burn it!
Fry the garlic and onion in some oil until it’s cooked. Add in ground beef and brown. Drain. Add in canned tomato sauce and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Season to taste and set aside.
In a baking dish, pour half the pasta in. Layer half the bolognese sauce over it. Pour half of the bechamel sauce over it in a final layer, then repeat the layering process once more. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the bechamel on top becomes firm. Brush egg yolk over the top and bake for an additional 10 minutes until it gets brown.
Let it rest for about 10 minutes or so (the bechamel should get firm, and when you slice it, it should hold together in squares) and cut it uppp!
