Zucchini Béchamel

Béchamel is a creamy sauce that results when warm milk is added to a roux, a combination of butter and flour.  It is the main sauce to many Egyptian dishes. It can top a variety of vegetables and even pasta.

Ingredients:

4 Zucchini's, washed and sliced

1 egg

2.5 cups milk, warmed

5 tbsp butter

5 tbsp flour

salt, pepper, nutmeg, oregano

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Steam the sliced zucchini until tender. Layer in a buttered pyrex and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

For the Béchamel:

Pull out 1 egg and let it sit on the counter top to come to room temperature. Heat 2.5 cups of milk (you might need more later) for 3 minutes in the microwave. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a medium size pot. Add immediately 5 tablespoons of flour. Cook until the flour absorbs the butter. Ladle in the milk one ladle full at a time and whisk it in the roux until it's smooth. Repeat this process until you finish the milk. You want the béchamel to be the consistency of cake batter. Turn the heat off and season it with salt, pepper, and just a dash of nutmeg. Add some grated parmesan cheese. Cool the mixture as much as you can by whisking it and releasing the steam from it. If you don't cool it, when u add the egg, it will scramble. Whisk in the egg.

Pour the béchamel over the zucchini. Sprinkle a little parmesan on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown color, like this: Serve with rice.

Source: daliasdelights  original