Noodle-Patty Casserole

Ingredients

• 400 g macaroni
• 400 g ground beef
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 EL clarified butter
• 125 ml dry red wine
• Salt
• ground pepper
• 2 carrots (peeled, very finely diced)
• 0.5 bulb fennel (cleaned, very finely diced)
• 1 small can peeled tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 EL Butter
• 2 EL flour
• 300 ml milk
• Salt
• ground pepper
• nutmeg
• 80 ml whipping cream
• 100 g Parmesan (freshly grated)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, drain and set aside. Brown the ground beef in the butter until crumbly; add the vegetables and bay leaf for a few minutes, pour in the wine, stir in the canned tomatoes with their juice, let all liquid evaporate over higher heat, remove the bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   For the béchamel sauce melt the butter in a pot, whisk in the flour, cook briefly, then gradually add milk with a whisk; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer gently for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally, then fold in cream and 1 EL parmesan. Line a greased baking dish with half the noodles, pour the meat sauce over them, sprinkle with half the cheese, top with remaining noodles, spread the béchamel sauce, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 25 minutes until golden brown.