"Macaroni Bechamel" (مكرونة بشاميل)

Macaroni Bechamel is a pasta dish. A heavy one, but a very tempting one too.

Ingredients needed:

Penne pasta.
1/4 kg ground beef.
1 minced onion.
1 tbsp tomato paste.
2 tbsp ghee, butter or oil.
5 overfilled tbsp flour.
4 cups milk.
Grated Romano cheese.
Salt and pepper.
1 egg.

"Preheat oven to 350 degrees!"

Directions:

1. Boil 1/4 kg penne pasta then rinse when fully cooked.
2. Fry 1 minced onion until it becomes yellow.
3. Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper and stir on medium heat.
4. When it's fully cooked add 1 tbsp tomato paste and stir all again with adding a little water, so that the tomato paste dissolves well with the meat.
5. Start preparing the beshamel in a medium-big nonstick sauce pan/casserole, by adding 2 tbsp ghee on a low-medium heat.
6. Add 5 tbsp flour, start whisking all time with a balloon nonstick whisk.
7. Slowly pour 4 cups milk, keep whisking!
8. Add 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese while whisking.
9. When all ingredients are homogeneous you can stop whisking.
10. Increase heat to medium and stir every now and then until you feel it became thick.
11. Remove from stove and set aside.

Preparing the baking dish:

• Use a 2-quart square Pyrex dish.
• On the bottom put a layer of rinsed penne.
• Pour 1/2 of beshamel and mix all together with the penne.
• Add the ground beef.
• Put rest of penne over the beef.
• Pour the other half of beshamel on the top.
• Beat 1 egg, season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the beaten egg slowly on the surface of beshamel, until it covers it all. Use a spatulas to help you spreading it equally.
• You can also sprinkle some breadcrumbs on the top.
• Put on the middle rack in a preheated oven.
• When the surface turns dark yellow with medium brown spots, then you know that the dish is done and you can remove it to cool down a bit before serving.

Next to the "Macaroni Bechamel" we can prepare a green salad or some sauteed vegetables.
Fried breaded chicken fillet next to it, would be also great as a meal for kids.

Enjoy!