Macarona Bechamel (Cheesy Baked Bechamel Pasta)

Macarona Bechamel is the most comforting famous Egyptian bechamel pasta recipe baked with penne, bechamel sauce, with loaded cheese. Perfect dinner idea to serve as a side dish casserole. This recipe comes from Egyptian cuisine famous all across the middle east. The crusty texture of baked macaroni is enough to tempt everyone to eat.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: bechamel pasta bake, Egyptian Macaroni Bechamel, macarona bechamel

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: Persons

Author: Hinz

Ingredients

400 g Macaroni Penne Pasta
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup onion
2 teaspoon garli chopped
100 g Ground chicken
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon All spice garam masala
½ teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
2 teaspoon Capsicum
Bechemal sauce
2 tablespoon Butter
½ cup All purpose four
½ liter Milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Mozzarella cheese For topping
1 pinch Oregano

Instructions

Prepare Macaroni Pasta:

In a hot boiling water, cook the macaroni pasta for about 8 minutes on medium to high heat. As it get 95% boiled then drain water and rinse with tap water to release excess starch.

Preparation of Chicken

In a heated pan, add oil and saute garlic and onion until it changes color. Add ground chicken and cook on high heat until the chicken changes its color. Now add spices (paprika powder, garam masala, cinnamon powder, and salt). Cook all the spices on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes to get rid of spice rawness. Add tomato paste and mix well. Add tomato paste and mix well. Also, add capsicum chunks to add color to chicken. Cover and cook the chicken on medium heat to low heat for 20 minutes.

Preparation of Bechamel Sauce

Start with preparing the Roux, In a pan, add butter and melt it on low heat. Add All purpose flour and brown it to get a nutty paste. Next, add milk and stir quickly to make a thick sauce. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for few minutes on low heat until you get a thick and smooth texture. Make sure to keep whisking as it will help to make a smooth texture of sauce.

Assembling

Mix the macaroni with chicken.

Layering

In a casserole dish, place the layer of macaroni then pour bechamel sauce. Repeat the layering again. Over the top, spread mozzarella cheese and sprinkle few chunks of capsicum to add color.
Sprinkle a pinch of oregano.

Baking

Preheat the oven 5 to 10 minutes before then place the pasta dish in oven and bake for 30 minutes at 220C. Broil for 5 minutes to give a nice roasted color on top.

Serving

Take it out from oven, Let it settled for 5 minutes. Cut into cubes and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Add pasta in hot boiling water and don’t overcook otherwise the dish will be mushy in texture. Make sure to rinse pasta with tap water right after straining.
Cooked meat should not be watery in texture otherwise the pasta will release water after coming to room temperature.
While making bechamel sauce for paste, make sure to add the flour on a low temperature otherwise it will burn. Cook the flour for few minutes on medium heat and keep stirring.
To make a perfect consistency of bechamel sauce use the right proportion of butter, flour, and milk. It should be semi-thick in texture. If it’s lumpy then add cold water to break the lumps. For beginners, use little cold water after roasting the flour and mix well to get a fluid consistency then add milk to make it thicker.
Topping of cheese will stand out the dish and add more flavor.