The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently had some articles about the opening of Memi’s Egyptian restaurant.  The articles mentioned that one of the available dishes was macarona bechamel “a comfort food made from pasta and a meat sauce baked with creamy béchamel”.  I came across The Egyptian Cook on the internet who had a recipe for this dish and stated that it was very popular in Egypt.  Here is how I made it last night adapted from that recipe.  The recipe below is for 4-6 servings.  I made half that amount which I baked in an 8-inch round cake pan.  The half recipe was 3 servings for Carol and me with a salad.

This takes about an hour and is quite easy, although it requires some simultaneous cooking in 3 different pans to make it that quickly.

6 Tbs. salted butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

6 cups whole milk

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. salt, divided

1 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 Tbs. Olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 cup tomato sauce

12 oz. penne pasta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Boil the pasta per the package instructions.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.  Gradually whisk in the milk until there are no lumps.  Add the nutmeg, 1 tsp. of salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Cook for about 15 minutes until thickened.  Remove from the heat and check seasoning.

In a second skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent.  Add the ground beef and coriander.  Cook the ground beef until it is browned, breaking it up as it cooks.  Add the tomato sauce and 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper to taste.  Remove from the heat.

In an ovenproof dish, put about half of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of the dish.  Top with half of the pasta, then with the meat mixture, then with the other half of the pasta, and last with the rest of the bechamel.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes until the top is nicely browned.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving to make cutting it easier.