My MaaIl’s “White Sauce wari Dish” is everything comfort food should be. In her amazingly hearty casserole, spaghetti is bathed in rich, silky béchamel sauce and layered with spiced meat and tomato sauce with hidden veggies for those fussy kids; it is similar to the Middle Eastern Macarona Béchamel or the Greek Pastitsio.  

Three essential components make up this dish—pasta, meat filling, and a creamy béchamel sauce—which are layered in a pan and baked to a golden brown.  The distinctive and rich flavor comes from black pepper and bell peppers, in the meat sauce.

 My MaaIl used to mix grated carrots into the béchamel sauce and sauté bell peppers with the spaghetti, the meat sauce was heavily seasoned with black pepper. 

I hide all the green beans, peppers and carrots in my meat filling so that the kids don’t pick them out.  In an age where there were no cookery shows on TV nor did she own any recipes books, or read newspapers or magazines, I wish I had asked her how she came across this recipe, did it have cheese and she never used it? Since maybe 30 years ago, the only cheese available in town was tinned Kraft cheese. Did it have oregano, cloves, cinnamon? Who taught it to her? What she tweaked to make it her own.  A million questions unanswered. 

 I recommend using San Marzano tomato to make a perfect tomato sauce, which is thicker in consistency, sweeter, richer, and less acidic in flavor.

This “White Sauce Dish” is irresistible! It is easier to make than you think, and you can prepare it in advance and, it’s perfect for feeding a crowd. You can assemble everything and refrigerate it the day before, then bake it before serving. 

Minced Meat Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 LB Minced Meat- Beef or Chicken (I used Chicken but you can use turkey or vegan options like Beyond Beef Crumbles, mushrooms, or ground tofu)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion finely chopped  
• 1 14-oz or 16 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes -crushed (or use a jar of good quality tomato passata)
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup of diced green beans
• 1 large carrot grated
• 1 green bell pepper grated
• 1 tablespoon ground fresh black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1-pound spaghetti (Regular or Gluten Free)

White Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or good olive oil
• 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 4 1/2 cups warm whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste  

Watch it come together here:

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown, that’s why I use 1/2 oil 1/2 butter). Add flour and whisk to create a roux. Cook, stirring, until the raw flour scent is gone, about 2 minutes. 
2. Whisking constantly, add warm milk in a steady stream, whisking thoroughly until you get a homogeneous texture.
3. Once all milk has been added, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce has thickened, whisking constantly (if sauce hasn’t thickened after 5 minutes, heat is too low – increase a little until sauce is just bubbling and thickens).
4. If you need to thin the sauce, slowly and gradually whisk in more milk until desired consistency is reached. Check that the sauce has thickened properly by coating the back of a spoon and running your finger through it – it should remain separated
5. If any lumps form, simply strain thoroughly to remove them or use a hand blender.
6. Season well with salt and lots of black pepper.
7. Remove 1/3 + a little more of the sauce and set it aside.
8. To the rest add the grated carrots (*note I added my carrots to the meat sauce instead)
9. Preheat your oven to 375F
10. Start by boiling the spaghetti in salted water until al dente, or one minute shy of the directions Drain and set aside
11. In a saucepan heat 1 tsp oil and sauté, the bell peppers then add the spaghetti and toss well. (*note I added my bell peppers to the meat sauce)
12. In a sauce pot, add a splash of olive oil, and when heated add garlic paste and sauté, then finely dice the onion, cook for 3 minutes then ground meat and crumble with a flat spatula while cooking over medium heat. 
13. Once almost cooked through, add bell peppers and green beans, pour in crushed tomatoes sauce and tomato paste. Season well with salt and pepper, stir, and add water, cover, and bubble for 20 minutes.
14. Mix the pasta with roughly 1 cup of the Béchamel sauce.
15. In a deep, large casserole dish, add ½ cup of Béchamel sauce and spread it around, then add 1/3 of the spaghetti
16. Add ½ of the meat mixture on top and even out the layer, then add 1/3 Béchamel sauce followed by the spaghetti, repeat- so you should have 3 layers of Béchamel, 2 layers of meat sauce, and 2 layers of spaghetti.
17. Cover with all of the Béchamel sauce and smooth it out – you should have enough sauce to cover the whole thing well
18. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake at 375F for 40 mins. Uncover and broil for 8 minutes to brown the top.