Macarona Béchamel

Ingredients:

1 lb of penne pasta
1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped 

 spaghetti sauce

salt and pepper

For the Béchamel:

4 cups milk, warmed (plus more if needed later)

8 tbsp butter

8 tbsp flour

salt, pepper, nutmeg,

Parmesan cheese
1 egg, whisked for the egg wash

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and a drop of  oil. Add the pasta and cook. Drain and set aside. 

In another pot, heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add the ground beef. Season  with salt and pepper. Once cooked, add the spaghetti sauce and season with more salt and pepper to taste. 

For the Béchamel:

Heat the milk for 2 minutes in the microwave.
Meanwhile melt 8 tablespoons of butter in a medium size pot. Add 8 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. Add more milk to thin it out if it is too thick. Turn the heat off and season it with salt, pepper, and just a dash of nutmeg. Add some grated parmesan cheese. 

To assemble: Pour some of the béchamel into the pyrex, leaving a larger portion for the top. Add 1/2 of the cooked pasta and mix well. Spread the ground beef mix over it. Add the remaining pasta. Pour the rest of the béchamel spreading with a spatula to cover all corners of the pyrex. Lightly brush with some egg wash. Bake at 400 degrees for  40 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown color.

Source: daliasdelights original