afoona
Baked Pasta with Béchamel
Pasta & Rice

Baked Pasta with Béchamel

Baked pasta with béchamel — a rich, comforting dish with creamy béchamel sauce and a golden cheese topping.

⏱ 55 min🍽 4 servings 🌍 Mediterranean👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 3 parts

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Cooked pasta

  1. 1
    Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.
    ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot
    💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
  2. 2
    Drain.
    Colander

For the Béchamel

  1. 3
    Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat, add the flour and stir 1–2 minutes, until a smooth roux forms and starts to bubble.
    StovePot
  2. 4
    Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly, and cook 5–8 minutes, until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon.
    StoveWhisk
    💡Add the milk slowly, whisking constantly, so no lumps form. For lasagna, the common ratio is about 7 g flour per 100 ml milk (4 tablespoons flour to 2 cups): more flour gives a thick béchamel, for moussaka; less flour gives a soft béchamel, for a sauce.
  3. 5
    Season with salt and Nutmeg.

To assemble

  1. 6
    Toss the pasta in the sauce with the pepper and with half of the cheese and mozzarella.
  2. 7
    Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle the rest of the cheeses on top and bake in a preheated 180°C (355°F) oven 25–30 minutes, until the topping is golden.
    Baking panOven
744calories
34 gprotein
84 gcarbs
28 gfat
● protein 19%● carbs 46%● fat 35%

Per serving (351 g), of 4 servings

For the Cooked pasta · For the Béchamel · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (6) · 🍳 2 cooking vessels

  • Oven · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Toaster oven (Fits one small pan; good for small batches) · Air fryer (Small batches only, no runny batters) · Pot (Only for covered stews on the stovetop, no browning on top)
  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (less liquid, faster evaporation) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Wok (For quick cooking)
  • Baking pan · Also works: Glass / ovenproof baking dish (None) · Disposable pan (None)
  • Colander · Also works: Lid (a lid held slightly open over the sink, you lose a little) · Slotted spoon (for small amounts)
  • Whisk · Also works: Hand mixer (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Fork (Beat with a fork, less air)

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