Lasagna
Makes 1 large 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.
Warm milk means no lumps when added to the roux (butter & flour mix)
Ensure all parts are ready to assemble before making the béchamel.
1 recipe fresh pasta
Béchamel Sauce
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:
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.
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.
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.
Top with mozzarella & Parmesan.
Cover the lasagna with oil sprayed aluminum foil. Using cooking spray on the foil will prevent the top cheesy layer from sticking.
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, covered, & 15-25 minute uncovered.
