Delicious Baked Pasta with Minced Meat and Bechamel Sauce 🍝

By Refika's Kitchen · 60 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. In a pot, bring 1 to 1.5 liters of water to a boil and add 2 pinches of salt. Add two-thirds of the pasta package and cook for 7 minutes until al dente.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pasta from the water, leaving about 15 to 20 long pieces in the pot. Let them sit in the water for 2 more minutes.
3. In a hot pan, brown 200 grams of ground beef over high heat.
4. When the beef changes color, add 2 large onions, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor. Reduce the heat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil if the beef is lean, and cook slowly, stirring often, for about 20 minutes.
5. Add a few spoonfuls of pasta cooking water to the pan to keep the meat from sticking and to bring the flavors back into the beef.
6. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Grate in 4 cloves of garlic and half a nutmeg.
7. Add 200 ml of tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
8. For the béchamel, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and cook 2 tablespoons flour until it smells nutty. Gradually add 400 ml milk, stirring constantly, until thickened as you like. Season with salt, black pepper and nutmeg to taste.
9. Braid the slightly overcooked pasta into three sections, like a French braid.
10. Mix the pasta you removed earlier with the béchamel and spread it in a baking tray.
11. Make a hole about 14 cm wide in the center of the dish and place the beef in the middle.
12. Arrange the braided pasta around the meat and along the edges. Brush the pasta with the egg yolk.
13. Sprinkle 150 grams of grated cheddar on top and bake at 230°C (450°F) on grill mode on the upper second rack for 15 minutes. Rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Summarized from Refika's Kitchen's video. Watch it for the details.

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GarlicOnionEggCheeseTomatoMilkPastaGround beef