Lasagna

Making lasagna from scratch might seem daunting, but breaking it down into steps makes it manageable and fun.

Here’s how to make this delicious dish.

A few things to know

Béchamel:

• Warm milk means no lumps when added to the roux (butter & flour mix)

• Ensure all parts are ready to assemble before making the béchamel.

• 500 - 750 ml milk of choice, warm*
• 50 g melted butter
• 50 g gluten free flour
  
  *Milk quantity varies greatly due to your flour type and presence of gums etc. see recipe below for a basic flour I keep on hand for rolling and applications such as this sauce

Tomato Sauce

• Soffrito of cooked cartons, celery & onions
• 2 jars of tomato passatta
• 1 lb beef or for vegetarian I do 2 lbs finely diced cremini mushrooms with more soffrito

Soffrito

• In a food processor with an S-blade attachment, purée 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk & 1 small onion until finely diced
• Sauté in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft
• Sauté the ground beef or diced mushrooms until brown
• Add the passatta & simmer for an hour
• Set aside to cool

Béchamel (Besciamella)

• Melt the butter. Add the flour & cook on low heat for 1 minute.
• Add all the warm milk at once, whisking to combine.
• Continue whisking until mix starts to thicken, bring to a boil & simmer for 2 minutes.

Once all of the components of this recipe are ready to go, the assembly process is quick and easy. You can go ahead and assemble this lasgana recipe a day ahead of time for one of the best make-ahead dishes around. It always makes for easy entertaining! Here's how to assemble this lasagna recipe:

1. Have all of your prepared ingredients ready to go. Start by spreading a small amount of beef Bolognese in the bottom of your lasagna pan. Then, lay your first layer of lasagne pasta sheets in the bottom of your baking dish.

2. Spread a layer of Parmesan béchamel sauce over the lasagna noodles. It is okay if the besciamella has cooled and thickened, it will become saucy again during the baking process. Next, add a thick layer of sugo, aka sauce.

3. Repeat the layering process until the lasagne pan is full. (In our standard Pyrex baking dish, we had 5 layers each of pasta, Bolognese and besciamella). Reserve a little additional besciamella for the top layer of the lasagne.

4. Top with mozzarella & Parmesan.

5. Cover the lasagna with oil sprayed aluminum foil. Using cooking spray on the foil will prevent the top cheesy layer from sticking.

6. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, covered, & 15-25 minute uncovered.