Egypt's answer to Lasagna
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- This dish might just be better than Lasagna! It's an Egyptian pasta dish called Makarona Bechamel, which combines the same familiar layers of tomato, meat sauce, and bechamel pasta, yet somehow it tastes even better. It's an absolute classic that every Egyptian loves, and it's also popular in Greece!
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0:00 Intro
0:43 Our simple Tomato Sauce
1:41 Making the Juicy mince meat
3:23 The creamiest Bechamel
5:09 The secret to our Pasta
5:31 Assembling the Makarona Bechamel
7:55 Taste Test & Outro
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Tomato Sauce:
1 Onion
400g Chopped Tomatoes, or 500g Tomato Passata
1 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
3/4 Tsp black pepper
Mince meat:
1 Onion
400g Minced Beef
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Bechamel:
2 Bay Leaves
200g Unsalted butter
200g Flour
1 1/4 L Cold milk
2 1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tsp white pepper
Punch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Other:
Beef stock cube
400g Penne Pasta
1 Egg
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Directions:
To make the Tomato sauce:
1- Blend your chopped tomatoes with 100 ml of water, and chop your onions to a medium dice
2- Place a pot on the stove and add the butter to it over medium heat. Allow to melt completely
3- Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes until softened
4- Pour in the tomato sauce, then add salt, and pepper
5- Mix the sauce together then turn the heat to medium high and bring to a light boil
6- Once it has boiled turn the heat to medium and allow the sauce to simmer for 40-45 minutes with the lid ajar
To make the Mince meat:
1- In a non stick pan, melt your butter over medium high heat
2- Add in 400g of minced beef, and press it down into the pan so it's well spread out
3- Once you've spread it to about 1 cm thick, start flipping the meat over before it develops a sear
4- Once flipped over, smash it into smaller pieces using a spatula
5- Allow the meat to cook until it releases loads of liquid, then add in 1 onion chopped to a small dice
6- Follow that up with the salt, black pepper, and the nutmeg
7- Mix well and cook until the onions have softened and wilted
To make the bechamel:
1- Add part of your milk to a cold pot, then add 2 bay leaves and heat over low heat (infusing is optional)
2- Bring the bilk to a light boil, then let it simmer for about 20 minutes
3- Turn the heat off and move your milk to the fridge and allow it to cool down completely
4- When ready, add the butter to a large pot over medium heat and allow it to melt
5- Once melted, add In the flour, and mix it very thoroughly
6- Cook the flour for about 4-5 minutes, until the butter begins to seep out of the flour
7- Turn the heat to low, and begin adding the milk about 100-200ml at a time. It has to be cold
8- Mix all of the milk into the flour until absorbed, then repeat adding a small amount until all of the milk is well incorporated
9- After 4-5 minutes of mixing, your bechamel should be perfectly smooth
10- Add the salt and white pepper, then the freshly grated nutmeg
11- Turn the heat to medium and let it bubble for a minute before turning off the heat
To assemble:
1- Boil a pot of water, and add in the beef stock cube, once dissolved add your pasta.
2- Cook for about 2 minutes less than the time on the packet, then drain
3- Remove half of the bechamel from the pot and set aside. Mix the rest of the bechamel with the pasta
4- In a separate bowl, combine the meat with 1 cup of tomato sauce, and mix well.
5- In a deep baking dish, add half of your pasta, and flatten it into a single layer that covers the base of the dish. Make sure to flatten the pasta so it isn't upright
6- Next add your meat in a layer on top of the pasta and flatten it out
7- Add the rest of your pasta into another flat layer
8- Now add a cup of tomato sauce, spreading it from edge to edge
9- Finally add the remaining bechamel on top. This should seal the tomato sauce and pasta in, and should go from edge to edge
10- Beat together an egg, then brush it all over the bechamel
11- Cook in an oven preheated to 180c for about 45 minutes, and turn on the grill for the last 5
12- Let it cool for half an hour, then dig in to the amazing pasta 
Хобби
What do you think, does it sound better than lasagna? They're both pretty spectacular, but to me, this takes the crown. Join us on our discord and let me know why you think Lasagna is or is not better at *www.patreon.com/MiddleEats*
Don’t make me choose between my children! 😭
Not even close.
I have to say Macarona Bil Bachamel is by far more of a comfort food and has a smoother taste than lasagna. I invited some western friends over once and they absolutely attacked the bechamel and said it was better than any lasagne they've ever tried (Of course here in North America they add layers of Ricotto or even cottage cheese which ruins the dish in my opinion as opposed to the original Italian recipe that adds bechamel between layers instead). So I donno, I like both but for a smoother more comforting dish Macarona bil Bechamel wins.
@@fmls8266 this is like lasagna for kids palettes
We actually have this in Italy as well, and we call it pasta pasticciata, or other names according to the region. It's considered the lazy version because it's faster, and it's my favorite as well 😍
Thanks for having me over! The whole experience was amazing! People, you gotta make this, it BANGS!
I lived in southern Italy for 10 years and the lasagna was amazing. I now live in Alexandria in Egypt so I'm gonna make this for my Egyptian friends!
Great! Hope it turns out well 😁
I made Beshamel last week and it’s delicious.
My Husband is Egyptian and he loves it!
It seems this dish is made differently by every person.
I use Baharat and then mozzarella cheese on top. Lazeeza!
This is very similar to Pastitsio for sure. In Pastitsio, the egg (usually just the yolk) is mixed into the béchamel which gives it a nice rich flavour and helps it rise a bit making it somewhat fluffy. They also use copious amounts of hard cheese sprinkled between the layers.
Yes. It's thought the Egyptians learnt it from Greek Egyptians in the 1950s
@@MiddleEats very interesting! Try make Pastitsio sometime to compare.
Egyptian here! We add egg yolks to ours as well, sometimes adding whole eggs so it crisps up the top and makes it look like a souffle on top.
@@MoniBahaa Greek here - aha - then it is Pastitsio 🤣 what I like to do is separate eggs, mix yolks into béchamel, then whip up the whites and fold into béchamel. Nice and fluffy once cooked. Should also be allowed to rest for 30-60 mins after cooking and before eating.
@@UnCoolDad love this! Once the top settles and crackles a bit, it's heavenly 😍
Hello! Middle Eats is one of my favorite RUclips channels. I never miss a video. I am an American now living in Italy, I have learned from living here for a while that every region has its own version of many dishes. Classic lasagna from the northern part of Italy uses bechamel. As you move farther south in Italy, the bechamel disappears and lasagna becomes completely red. I did not know that until I moved here and I was very surprised the first time I had lasagna here with the bechamel later. So the answer is neither is better, they are both the same. Final thing, I have enjoyed makarona bechamel at the home of an Egyptian friend many times. It was prepared by his grandmother who died a few years ago. She lived to be 97 and cooked until a week before her death. Since one truth about food worldwide is that there is nothing better than a grandmother's cooking, I feel safe in saying they are equally good, and that makes me happy!
I remember years back, was in a small kitchen in Sobra and me a greek and my best friend egyptian we did crash test with the egyptian and greek way, its very similar with greek pastitsio
I was just thinking the same about pastitsio if it was going to be the same, although in Cyprus we use pork mince, and different pasta, bucatini plus the layering etc is different so similar but different lol.
Same! I am Greek and thought this looked so similar to Pastitsio.
I live in Greece 🤍💙
It's actually called "pasticcio" in Italy, so that's probably where the Greek name comes from
Very cool to know of the differences! We also have one without tomato sauce in Egypt called Makarona Forn.
Yum! this is so Similar to Greek pastitsio. My mum is from southern Greece (Peloponnese). Classic Greek Mince - cinnamon, clove, allspice, white pepper, bay leave, garlic & onion and dried orange rind ( which is regional from my mums southern Greek Peloponnese region) & Tomato paste. We put the nutmeg in the besamel sauce and sprinkle Greek kefalotyri and kasserri cheese in the besamel and in the thick pasta layers.
Bravo! 🧿💙
Hey, Mo has spoken!
You guys are so cool for welcoming one of your patrons into your home that way. Wonderful hospitality! If I weren’t in New York City, I’d drop by for some supper, too!
My neighbor used to make this and she never gave me the recipe.... I've looked it up but nothing has ever been as good. I can't wait to try this.
I don't like your neighbor D:
🤣🤣🤣
Would love to see more pasta based dishes. Never thought pasta was a part of the cuisine until I started following your channel. Thank you for increasing my knowledge while providing tasty inspiration.
Mama would make this for us growing up all the time and now I make it for my children 🥰 we Egyptians have so much yummy foods. If you haven’t tried this, please do!
I'm sure you've had an influx of people after your appearance on Adam's podcast, and I'm ever so glad to be one of them. Honestly, it's shocking to me that I haven't found your channel before. I'm floating around through your back catalogue finding so many things I've been longing to find good recipes for.
It's been 15 years since I lived in Turkey. It was a wonderful time for me and I made amazing friends who I miss dearly. Cooking foods we shared helps make them feel a little closer. Thank you for all the recipes for old favourites you've made. There are loads of others that I've never tried before, and I'm excited to give them a go.
Looks delicious 👌🏻 Greetings from Scotland 😊 Have a wonderful day everyone 🌻
I just made this today. I’m shocked at how good this is. I think I got a little mixed up with the amount of flower in the béchamel. I’m in the US and our measurements don’t get along with the rest of the world. But it still turned out great! Can’t wait to try it again with a little more prep. Thanks for Sharing this recipe! Amazing!!!
I had the same problem. When I looked up what is 200g of flour and butter they came out 3/4 cup butter and 1.6 cups flour. It seemed like way too much flour. I wonder if they have a “cup” that’s 200g just like ours is 8 oz. Like we pretend weight is volume. Anyway it wasn’t the end of the world. I just used more milk till it was approximately the right consistency.
Made this recipe today as a complete cooking beginner and it turned out flawless. It's definitely something to cook up when you want to impress someone or have a gathering, but be ready for all the pots/dishes that you're gonna have to wash afterwards
First of all, I want to say thanks for your videos. Your channel is exactly what I've been looking for. I'm a simple Russian, but I love Middle Eastern and Turkish culture and food (maybe because I'm half Azerbaijani? Who knows?)
I was curious, could you please show us some of the Yemeni food recipes? I just learned about Yemen and I'm fascinated with this country. I'd love to try some of their cuisine. I trust mostly your videos, so I hope you will make a video on Yemeni food one day. Cheers!
I appreciate your channel so much 😢
As any (current or former) culinary student in America, I wasn't really exposed to Middle Eastern cuisine and only really found out about this dish from a local kebab house. Thank you sp much for helping me expand my palette. I hope to continue to learn more from you👍🏼😁
Oh la la! I adore Pastitsio, so this is on my MUST MAKE list now. I salute your passion for sharing these recipes and thank you for the excellent video!
Mo might be one person, but he's also a person who savagely devours the entire plate while you're preoccupied, which resonates with me on a level I didn't even know existed. Kudos to the Mo collab. May he tasteth for years to come
This is inspiring. The big thing I'm taking from this is the way you take the sauces and mix them into the pasta/meat, because it looks like it mixes so much better
Great recipe! Looks delicious! Thank you very much for sharing! 👍👍👍
Hello Obi,I am Sophia Greek American, and this is similar to Greek “lasagna”, also my mother taught me to add a cinnamon-pecorino Romano sprinkle at the very top of the bechamel it gives it a nice salty crunchy top,just sayin. Much love.
My Dad loves Lasagna. Every year he wants the same dish for his birthday.
This year, we‘re going to make the Egyptian version!
Ahhh, love this dish! My niece loves it, too! I've been meaning to make it for her some time soon. Hopefully this weekend!
Here from the Ragusea Podcast. Loved the recipe and am excited to learn more from you!
This looks gorgeous!!! I love lasagna and middle eastern cuisine so I'm so excited to try
Love this dish, can't wait to try your method
My lasagne recipes use cheese instead old béchamel and the meat is seasoned differently. So for me this wasn’t a real either / or. It was something new and different. My family loved it! I have made pastichio before but it wasn’t like this! Thank you for all you do. I don’t find a lot of channels that take my cooking up a notch but you have really upped my Middle Eastern cooking game. You’re now one of my go to recipe sources. I know whatever I’m making, your version will be the best to start with. I also appreciate how many new things you’ve exposed me to. Living in the US, I only have exposure to the most popular dishes. I love the variety of things you show us. Thank you again!
Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoyed it and more of our recipes! I hope you keep on trying them and find new delicious things to cook. Your message meant a lot to me today 🤗
My mouth is watering!! Very excited to give this a try
wow this looks so tasty!! also such a creative idea to have a patron taste the food :)
This looks amazing! I always thought pastitsio was so much better than lasanga, now I know there is an Egyptian version, I must try it out!
Thumbnails featuring food that beautiful should be illegal 😩 thank you for the video!
That looks amazing!!
No joke, this video has the best bechamel tutorial I've ever seen... The subtlety of this masterpiece is amazing.
This looks absolutely amazing! Definitely going into the “make very soon” list
I made this yesterday for Iftar. My egyptian husband was quite impressed. Great recipe, thank you 😊
Masterpiece as always Obi
Greetings from Dallas Texas
I grew up eating lasagna with béchamel sauce in our lasagne and baked pasta . Was so fortunate to have my Aunt who lived with us and she was an outstanding cook . She grew up in Southern Italy .
It’s absolutely delicious
We have this dish in Cyprus too, it's called firin magarina / makaronia tou fournou. One of my favourite comfort foods! we put lots of halloumi in the bechemel :)
This is the greatest recipe of them all. Greetings from Egypt.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh my yum! Thank you Obi!
No problem! Hope you try it out!
@@MiddleEats I most definitely will! Especially thank you for that beautiful sauce. 😍
I'm asking for this for my birthday dinner, it looks incredible!
Another trick I do is I always make two trays and the freezes very well. Just take out the tray the morning you plan on cooking and bam, you're ready to cook it later that day.
Oh so interesting! If we had freezer space wed totally do that! I guess if you got small round dishes you could also make individual portion sizes!
This is fabulous! I am making this very soon-----I have really been desiring lasagna, but I have issues with the usual recipes due to the immense amounts of cheese. Thank you!!! 50 hearts!
Ah then you will absolutely love this!
This looks so delicious
Italy been real silent since this dropped
Thanks Obi, seems delicious and very savory indeed, I add to béchamel slices of cheese on top of the meat with some basil and it never disappoints!
My Egyptian friend’s made this for me and I was dying it was SO. GOOD. I’d always ask them to make it. Now I know how.
This is Creme De La Creme of Egyptian Cuisine 👌 😋
Yes 😊
One of these days I need to do some research to figure out where some of the more classic Swedish spicing actually came from. You see, white pepper (and black), nutmeg and allspice are three of the most common spices in classic Swedish dishes. (and anyone who doesn't put nutmeg in any savoury milk-based dish are missing out).
I think the only thing I miss from this dish is that I really like the cheese part of lasagna, though using pasta that's not sheets is brilliant.
Wow that’s so Yummy!
I'm an Italian who loves middle eastern food, I'm sorry but this is pretty similar to how you make a traditional lasagna...in Italy and more traditional cooks use bechamel instead of ricotta and the meat sauce mimics a bolognese ragu except it's more simple and doesn't have as many ingredients, but it looks delicious and I'm happy that Egyptian people have come to enjoy this...food is love after all ❤️
I love it. Never knew about incorporating the bechamel into the pasta before layering. I think cooking the tomato sauce & meat in butter, instead of olive oil, makes it extra decadent. I love butter. :)
this looks like the comfortest of comfort foods!
Im taking the beet stock cube idea to flavor the pasta. 🍝 This is an absolute must taste recipe.
Oooooh that is almost, almost a mix of my two faves - lasagne and mac cheese. I shall def have to try this
Greetings from Greece. Try mixxing 1 egg yolk in the bechamel after you take it off the stove. Let it sit for a minute and then add the yolk and mix it in fast. Another trick you can do, is adding cheese that melts into the bechamel, prefferably smoked cheese. Thanks for mentioning the Greek pasticcio!
You smashed it bro 🇵🇸
Don’t mind me just binge watching your channel
I grew up eating this dish, yum!
I will definitely be trying this. I found recipes for pastitsio and it looked super good, except I'm a bit turned off by some of the spices. This looks perfect!
Hope you like it, I think all you need is the nutmeg
My mom’s macarona bechamel is very close to this… this is one of the greatest pasta dishes ever!!!
Since Mo is cute I would suggest to let him try the Egyptian-style stuffed grape leaves
my mom used to cook this but instead of penne she used spaghetti. it was and still one of my favourite dishes. BTW, you can add more layers depending on how big and deep your oven dish is.
ive never seen someone egg wash a béchamel top. looks like it really improved the result ill definately try that
This is really similar to Italian "pasta al forno" (baked pasta). The only big difference is that we don't make it in layers. We mix ragù with pasta (usually penne or rigatoni) and some bechamel and grated Parmigiano. We finish on top with some Parmigiano mixed with breadcrumbs and we bake until the top is golden brown. The crunchy bits are always my favourite part.
Oh my God Obi!!!
I used to think that I was the king of Macaroni Bashamel. But this looks so much nicer.
I will try it next week! Thank you!
I'm Italian and I must admit...I would rather eat the recipe you just made lolol.
You're officially banned from Italy forever
@@MrKijito I REALLY don't mind being banned from there forever lol
The absolute worst part of dealing with lasagna is wrestling with the noodles, which totally eliminates! I think this is dinner today.
Yes!! Lasagna is great, but this one just tastes so much homier, and it's a bit easier too!
I'm one of those heathens that puts lasagna noodles in uncooked. I just make my sauce a bit thinner with beef stock and the noodles cook perfectly.
What noodles??
Lasagna has no noodles at all.
There is no bad part of lasagna. 😊😉
I am in love.
The recipe from my mother-in-law has no tomato sauce and she also adds cardamom powder to the meat and beshermil. Tastes also nice.
I'd sure have a bite🤩
My dads side of the family would always talk about who made the best macaroni bechamel at holiday parties. I definitely agree it wins over lasagna!! They used to add mozzarella sometimes in between the layers 😋 once I became plant based I made a vegan version which is still delicious!! Love ❤️ the content !!!
I could eat this until I was sick.
This is almost exactly the way my northern Italian family makes lasagna.
Lamb ragu, bechamel, good Romano cheese in alternating layers.
learn it, live it, love it
peace in middle east
شكلها تحفة
My trick for supercharged bechamel is to infuse the milk with onions (quartered) and bay leafs. It's bomb
The mix of tomato meat sauce and bechamel reminds me of a type of lasagna that's commonly made in brazil. Big difference is the presence of cheese and ham layers.
Hello! Could you please make a video about harissa paste?
This looks so epic. I’m curious if you guys know a recipe for an Egyptian dessert/jam with fenugreek seeds (and hazelnuts). I can’t remember the name for it but used to have a recipe in an Egyptian cookbook I used to have. I never attempted because that recipe made like 2kg of it.
Mefata'a or Helba Ma'ooda
In Greece we call this pastitsio! We do it a little bit differently, but the idea is the same. Using penne and mixing it with a lot of sauce are nice ideas, I'll try it next time I make it. Proper pastitsio pasta is surprisingly unavailable outside Greece (or at least where I live)
You should try cooking the meat together with the tomatoes, it gets such a beautiful rich flavorful!
A tub of salad (preferably beet) and you got a complete meal
Habibi, you'll have to have a rest after eating that 😜
A full on nap is guaranteed!
I fell asleep the moment I got home 😁
It's basically just baked penne in two layers. Any baked pasta tastes great. Lasagna usually has many more layers so even though I love both of the versions, lasagna would be the winner for me.
Hi Middle Eats! Making this for an Eid lunch-how many does it feed? Can I bake in a 9x13 dish?
❤️ from 🇨🇦
Pastitsio x Lasagna - glad to see another Garfield Egyptian
Just started the video, but my vote is in. I'll take it over lasagna any day!!
Lovely recipe!
I don't get why you cooked the tomato sauce separately.. I usually just add it on top of the mince (just like Bolognese sauce).. It adds more flavor to the tomato sauce.
There's also a béchamel-only version of this, without any tomato sauce at all (which I think depends on where you come from in Egypt could be the standard)
Ironically I first tried this as a local resturant called "Mo's Falafel House."
usualy the pasta is half cooked and beshamele is more liquidi so can be absorbed during the oven cooking .
You made this so much more complicated than needed/how we make it. We love it more than lasagna, and not as complicated
This looks delicious! Going to try to make a vegan version of this tonight
Thank you. This looks nice but I prefer the other version where no tomato sauce is added. all white and tastes out of this world!
That is the thickest bechamel I ever saw! Somehow still looks yummy!
super
thats crazy
I am an Italian-born Italian person living in Italy from Italian parents and I must say: yes! This is by far way better than any lasagna you can possibly find... in the US 😜
🤣🤣🤣
What size was the dish approximately?