Prep. Time 20′ Cooking Time 50′ Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Bucatini – thick tubed spaghetti (500 g)
- 700 gr ground beef
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 400g canned chopped tomatoes or fresh chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup cognac
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
- EASY BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
- 1.5 l fresh milk
- 6 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- Salt
- 1 ½ cups kefalotiri cheese, (grated substitute with Pecorino)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a wide and shallow cooking pot with a thick base (Rondeau) and sauté the ground beef without stirring constantly.
- Brown well for about 8 minutes.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a further 2-3 minutes, until transparent.
- Pour the cognac and wait for the alcohol to evaporate for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
- Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the flavors combine and there are hardly any juices left.
- Remove the cinnamon stick after 5 minutes.
For the Béchamel
- Whisk the milk, cornstarch, freshly ground nutmeg, salt, and butter into a deep pot with a thick base. Leave for about 10 minutes, stirring.
- Once the béchamel sauce thickens, remove from heat and add the egg yolks one by one, beating vigorously with the whisk.
- Wait until each egg yolk is incorporated before adding the next one.
- Mix in ½ cup of kefalotiri cheese.
For the assembly
- In the meantime, cook and drain the pasta as per packet instructions.
- Transfer half to a greased, deep baking dish and drizzle with a ladleful of béchamel. Gently shake the dish.
- Add a ladleful of béchamel to the ground meat, mix well and pour meat sauce onto the pasta.
- Cover with the remaining pasta and finish with the béchamel sauce.
- Gently shake the dish so the béchamel settles on the surface.
- Sprinkle with the remaining kefalotiri and bake on the bottom rack in a preheated oven at 180 °C, for about 45-50 minutes.
Enjoy!
Source: Argiro Barbarigou
