Art Food Yum!: Ma’karonah Bil Bechamel

The official name is Ma’karonah Bil Bechamel. I call it lasagna and it is a very popular Egyptian food. It is easy to make and is basically a baked pasta dish. Bechamel is a white sauce that is made thick with flour. This is a dish that we eat a lot at the holidays and when we friends over. My mom makes this a lot. When I went to Egypt, this was a dish that my aunts made for me. I really like this dish because of the noodles and sauce.

Lasagna with Bechamel

Ingredients

1 box of ziti noodles

½ jar of pasta sauce

1 bag of shredded cheese any variety

Meat sauce:

2 lbs Chopped beef or lamb

1 onion finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce

Bechamel Sauce

4 cups of milk

3 tablespoons of flour

3 tablespoons of margarine or butter

1 egg whisked

Directions:

The first step is to add the pasta to a pot of boiling water

Cook the pasta according to the directions about 12 minutes and drain

In a pan, sauté the chopped onion until soft and then add the chopped meat.

As the meat cooks break up any large clumps. Season the meat with salt and pepper

And add the barbecue sauce

Bechamel Sauce:

In a saucepan melt the butter. Add the flour to the melted butter and stir constantly. Let the mixture cool for about one minute. Slowly a little at a time, add the milk to the mixture and keep stirring to avoid lumps. When all the milk has been added add the whisked egg. Keep stirring until it comes to a boil. Add ½ cup of cheese (any variety)

To assemble the dish put a spoonful of the sauce in a baking dish, add half of the cooked

Noodles and spread out evenly. On top of the noodles, put all of the meat mixture and spread evenly. If you want, you can add some type of cheese. On top of the meat mixture add the other half of the noodles. The last step is to put the béchamel sauce over the top layer of the noodles. Bake in a hot oven at 350 degrees until brown about 45-50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes then serve hot.