Ingredients for 2
Pasta layer
- 200 g penne rigate
- salted water
Meat layer
- ⅓ large onion, finely diced
- 233 lean ground beef
- .5 TB ground allspice
- .5 TB ground cinnamon
- .25 TSP ground clove (optional)
- 113 g tomato paste
- ⅛ cup water, to thin the tomato paste
- ⅓ tbsp cooking oil
Béchamel layer
- 75 g butter
- 75 g flour
- ⅓ l cold milk
- 79 ml chicken stock
- freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- grated cheese (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 190°C
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In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta per package directions. Drain and set aside.
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Cook onion in a bit of oil until soft. Add meat and cook until browned, breaking meat into small pieces.
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Drain any excess grease and add spices. Stir together and cook ~30 seconds.
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Mix tomato paste with enough water to create a viscous tomato sauce. Add sauce to meat and simmer 2-3 minutes before setting aside.
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In a saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. Cook 2-3 mins until no longer starchy, whisking frequently. Add milk gradually and whisk continuously. Add stock and cook until sauce is thickened. Add nutmeg and season to taste.
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Add thin béchamel layer to bottom of casserole dish and assemble as follows: half pasta, all the meat sauce, 2nd half of pasta, rest of béchamel and cheese.
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Bake covered for 45 minutes, removing lid last 5-10 minutes to brown top. Let cool 15 minutes.