Submitted by Jennifer Elhawary, Research Data Analyst, Lung Biology Center, UCSF Health
My Story
At age 25, my husband immigrated to America from Egypt. We met four years later and, early into our relationship, I asked him what his favorite Egyptian dish was so I could start incorporating some Egyptian cuisine into our meals. He enthusiastically stated “Béchamel Macaroni”! With layers of pasta and ground beef, topped with a mild béchamel sauce, this dish is an Egyptian favorite, often served at holidays and banquets. It’s even “jokingly” used as a marriage compatibility test.
On my hunt for the best, most authentic Egyptian béchamel dish I could find, I received a recipe from one of my husband’s Egyptian friends, and also found a recipe from an Egyptian-American chef online. However, after making those recipes, neither of them were like the ones my husband grew up with. If I was going to pass the compatibility test, I knew I would need to make this dish my own. Blending the best parts of the recipes I previously tried, I presented my unique creation to my husband. “This is better than the way my mom makes it!”. These words were all I needed to hear to know our marriage would last a lifetime.
Recipe
Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 box (16 oz) Penne pasta
1 lb Ground beef
1 Medium onion, finely chopped
2 Large Knorr beef bouillon cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup butter
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
¾ cup flour
4 cups milk
1 egg
Method
Make the pasta: Prepare penne according to directions on packaging. Drain and rinse with cold water before returning to pot to prevent noodles sticking together while you complete other steps.
Make the ground beef: While penne is cooking, brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain fat. Crumble one of the Knorr beef bouillon cubes on top, add salt and pepper to taste, combine and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the béchamel sauce: Melt butter and oil in a large deep skillet or pot. Add flour and roast flour until bubbly, stirring frequently with a wire whisk. Slowly whisk in milk until milk is fully incorporated and there are no lumps, constantly stirring until sauce is thick. Turn off heat, crumble the other Knorr beef bouillon cube into sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well combined.
Combine penne and ½ of the béchamel sauce. Set aside.
Add egg to remaining ½ of béchamel sauce, stir vigorously with wire whisk until egg has been well incorporated.
Layer an ungreased 13X9 dish with ½ of the penne/sauce mixture, ground beef mixture, and remaining ½ of penne/sauce mixture. Ensure no noodles are sticking up, then top with remaining béchamel sauce. Smooth top with a spatula or spoon all the way to the edges of the pan.
Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until top is browned and edges are crispy.
Tips/Pointers
To save time, use a food processor to finely chop the onion.
Start the pasta and ground beef mixture at the same time to ensure that the last item to finish is the béchamel sauce. If the sauce cools, it will create a skin.
The best parts are the crunchy edges of the béchamel topping after baking. I like to take my sauce all the way to the edge of the pan and seal it so that it creates a nice crunchy edge.
Make sure you use the large Knorr beef bouillon cubes so that you can crumble them into the sauce and ground beef.
Comments