Healthy Version of Pizza-inspired Baked Pasta With Bechamel

Pasta and pizza are two of the most loved foods around the world, so why not mix these two and come up with a new dish then go further and make it even healthier? In this recipe, normal pasta is replaced by oat pasta and Bechamel is made with whole wheat flour and no butter. That makes this recipe lower in fat and higher in fiber, protein and micronutrients, which are also provided by milk, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, ground beef and vegetables.

• 400 grams of oat pasta(75% cooked).
• 750 ml of whole-fat milk.
• 250 grams of ground beef.
• 150 grams of mozzarella.
• 2 medium size onions.
• 250 grams of mushrooms.
• 4 tablespoons of whole wheat flour or oat flour.
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Salt and pepper.
• Oregano.
• Red pepper and green chilli.
• Kalamata olives, green olives and pickled jalapenos for topping.

Let's prepare our veggies by slicing them all and chopping one onion into cubes.

In a hot pan,

• Add a tablespoon of olive oil.
• Stir fry the onions until they soften and change color.
• Add the sliced mushrooms and keep stirring.
• Add a teaspoon of salt (or to taste) and half a teaspoon of pepper.
• Add a pinch of oregano.
• Add half the amount of Red pepper and green chilli (leave the rest for the topping).
• Keep stirring every now and then until it's nearly cooked.

In a hot pan,

• Add the ground beef.
• Add half a teaspoon of salt (or to taste) and half a teaspoon of pepper.
• Stir until the beef color is brown.
• Put the ground beef aside, then add the chopped onion to the empty side and stir for a minute.
• Put the cooked ground beef in a bowl while you stir the onions until they soften and change color.
• Add the ground beef back then keep stirring until it's nearly cooked.

Instead of stirring the flour in melted butter,

• Add the whole wheat flour directly to the room-temperature milk and stir until it's totally mixed.
• Put it on medium heat and add half a teaspoon of salt (or to taste) and half a teaspoon of pepper.
• Keep stirring until the sauce thickens, then bring it to a boil.
• Lower the heat and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool down.

Now let's add our layers in the tray (30x21 cm):

• A thin layer of Bechamel sauce.
• Half the amount of pasta mixed with some Bechamel sauce.
• A layer of ground beef.
• A layer of mushrooms and vegetables (leave some mushrooms for the topping).
• The other half of the pasta.
• The rest of the Bechamel sauce.
• A layer of mozzarella cheese.
• Pizza topping (olives, mushrooms, red pepper and green chilli)

Lastly, bake the pasta in the oven under the grill until the top turns golden, then let it cool down and cut it into six segments.

Now you can enjoy your pastizza!