MACARRONS AMB BEIXAMEL - MACARONI WITH BECHAMEL SAUCE

This is at the top of my list of comfort foods. I grew up with it in Catalonia and it was one of my favourite Sunday lunch recipes. Macaroni with a ragu sauce and then covered with Bechamel sauce (white sauce) and grated Manchego cheese and put in the oven for about 30 minutes. Here is a recipe for the ragu, today I used veal and pork mince and 6 rashes of bacon. It was soooo yummy! The traditional recipe, however, is done is only pork mince and a sofrito of tomato passata. Nice and simple.

Ingredients

500g macaroni or penne rigatto

1 quantity ragu sauce

70g grated Manchego or Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

10g butter, extra

Bechamel sauce (TM recipe)

40 g unsalted butter

40 g of flour

500 g of milk

½ teaspoon of fine salt, or to taste

2 pinches of ground black pepper

2 pinches of nutmeg powder (optional)

Method:

Cook ragu as per recipe. Towards the end of cooking the sauce, put a large pot with water and salt on the stove and bring it to the boil. Cook the pasta for about 12 minutes or until al dente.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200C and prepare the bechamel sauce.

Place the butter in the bowl and melt 3 min/100°C/vel 1.

Add the flour and cook for 3 min/100°C/vel 1.

Add the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg powder and cook for 6 min/90°C/vel 4. Keep aside.

Drain the pasta in a colander and then transfer it to a baking dish.

Add the ragu to the pasta and mix well.

Cover with the bechamel sauce and then sprinkle with the grated cheese. Dot with some of the extra butter.

Transfer to the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and it is slightly brown.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

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