Lasagne Recipe

Video: Uncut Recipes

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TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE: Okay people, this is important: Lasagna Day is July 29th!

 

Being that most of us will not have the time (or the energy) to make a fresh lasagna from scratch, I wanted to offer some ideas on how to make everything, and anything, taste more like our favorite food.

 

Here is the traditional Lasagne recipe, the same one moms all over Italy make at home. The very same one their kids, overweight 40 year old men still living at home, eat on sunday.

 

People think that Lasagna is too complicated to make. It might look intimidating, but anyone can do it. All it takes is for you to be familiar with the ingredients and a little practice. Being optimistic will also help you to successfully make lasagna for yourself.

 

Still not convinced that you can easily make Lasagna? All you have to do is follow this step by step recipe.

 

Lasagne ( /ləˈzænjə/ or /ləˈzɑːnjə/ or /ləˈsɑːnjə/, Italian pronunciation [laˈzaɲɲe], singular lasagna ) are a wide, flat pasta shape, and possibly one of the oldest types of pasta. The word also refers to a dish made with several layers of lasagne sheets alternated with sauces and various other ingredients.

 

Lasagne originated in Italy, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Traditional lasagne is made by interleaving layers of pasta with layers of sauce, made with ragù, bechamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. In other regions and outside of Italy it is common to find lasagne made with ricotta or mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, various meats ( e.g., ground beef, pork or chicken ), miscellaneous vegetables (e.g., spinach, zucchini, mushrooms) and typically flavored with wine, garlic, onion, and oregano. In all cases the lasagne are oven-baked.

 

Traditionally, the dough was prepared in Southern Italy with semolina and water and in the northern regions, where semolina was not available, with flour and eggs. Today in Italy, since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold pasta is durum wheat, commercial lasagne are made of semolina ( from durum wheat ).

 

Although we're not aiming for "sheets of pasta floating in minced beef", as the principle flavour of any such lasagne, the meat aspect still deserves careful consideration. Some people make it with their standard ragù alla bolognese, which is how Lasagne should be make, but some others prefere to gently fry a mixture of coarsely minced beef, streaky bacon and finely chopped chicken livers with onion, carrot and celery, then slow-cook the lot with milk, white wine and chopped tomatoes, layered with béchamel sauce and fresh egg pasta, and topped with "lots of grated parmesan that will crisp up in the oven".
Making it this way the Lasagne has plenty of structural integrity, and a rich meaty flavour that works as well as the spaghetti it was originally designed to complement.

 

It's an undeniably lengthy process, however.

 

Other people have even more unusual take, a Gran Lasagne type of recipe, which is a traditional pre-Lenten dish in Naples. Instead of a meaty ragù, they use walnut-sized meatballs of beef and pork, fried until golden, and then added to a simple tomato and onion sauce. The lasagne looks impressive, with its topping of grilled meatballs and vivid yellow egg yolks, but as soon as you cut into the lumpy slab, the meatballs fall out. Not ideal.

 

Béchamel sauce is not an Italian-American tradition, nor Italian. It is in fact French. Unfortunately some southern Italian use Ricotta. I wouldn't advice that for this recipe. Just don't.

 

As with so many classic Italian dishes, lasagne alla bolognese should be kept simple. A robustly savoury meat sauce, creamy bèchamel, and just a hint of cheese, all deferring to the real star of the show, the pasta. It may take a little more time to make than you're used to, but I promise you, it's worth it.

 

 

 

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Skill Level:	Time: 2 - 3 Hours
Price:	Serves: 6 People

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Ingredients:

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Conversions

 

 

 

Directions:

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For the Bolognese Sauce ( Full Recipe Here )

 

01 - Chop the Onion, Carrots and Celery. Use a mixer if you want, or chop everything with a knife or a Mezzaluna, and add a little bit of water.

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Foto: Uncut Recipes


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02 - Gently fry everything in some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over a medium heat until they start going soft.

 

03 - Cook the mix for about 5 minutes.

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04 - Add the Beef and cook for another five or so minutes ( until it starts to go brown ).

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05 - Add the Wine and cook everything for about 20 minutes or untill the wine has completely absorbed and the alcohol evaporated.

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06 - You can now put some Tomatoe Paste ( if you want ).

 

07 - Put the Tomato Sauce and let boil for 5 minutes, and then add Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves and some Water.

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08 - Now turn the heat down so that the mixture bubbles VERY slowly. Leave the sauce cooking for 1 hour, adding a little bit of Water whenever it's needed.

 

09 - If you have chosen to add the Milk and Butter, put it 15 minutes before the end.

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For the Bechamel Sauce ( Full Recipe Here )

 

10 - Melt the Butter in a pot.

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11 - Whisk in the Flour until you remove all lumps. Let the mixture brown until the colour is just lightly golden.

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12 - Pour the Milk in and mix until the sauce thickens.

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13 - While you are still stiring, add a generous pinch of Salt and Nutmeg.

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14 - Once the Béchamel Sauce is dense and lump-free, it's ready.

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For the Lasagne

 

15 - Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.

 

16- Blanch the Pasta in salted boiling water for three minutes. Spoon a third of the Bechamel Sauce into the bottom of a Lasagne dish in a layer, then place some of the Pasta strips over the top.

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Foto: Uncut Recipes

17 - Follow this with Ragu and sprinkle over some Parmesan Cheese (and Freshly Ground Black Pepper if you want).

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20 - Repeat this step until all the ingredients have been used up. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and completely cooked through.

 

 

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Notes:

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- Feel free to add a couple of boiled Eggs in between the Lasagne Sheets.

 

- Some people add some Mozzarella too.

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Written by: Uncut Recipes

Disclaimer

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