Authentic Italian lasagne recipe
This is my family recipe, a very simple and classic one. Even though it takes a bit of time, it's absolutely worth the effort. You can double the recipe and freeze it. It's the prefect recipe for parties or family gatherings.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 300 gr of fresh egg pasta
- 300 gr of mozzarella cheese
- 150 gr of greated parmigiano or grana padano
For the tomato sauce:
- 800 gr of canned tomatoes puree or tomato passata
- 400 gr of minced meat pork and beef
- 3 italian sausages
- 1/2 carrot
- 1/2 celery stalk
- 1/2 onion
- 400 ml of water
- 2 tablespoon of oil
- 1/2 cup red wine
For the béchamel:
- 600 ml milk
- 30 gr butter
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- a pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
PREPARE THE SAUCE
- Chop finely the onion, the carrot and the celery. Heat a sauce pan, add the oil and the veggies and let them cook for a couple of minutes. If you like you can add chili pepper.
- Add the minced meat and the sausages and stir fry until the meat changes color (il will turn slightly grey). Then add the wine and let it evaporate.
- When the wine has evaporated, add the tomato puree and the water, mix well then add the salt and pepper and let it cook for about a couple of hours on low. Stir from time to time and check the sauce, if it’s too dry add a little water.
PREPARE THE WHITE SAUCE OR BECHAMEL
- Make a roux by melting the butter in a pan, then add flour and mix. Transfer the roux in a bowl.
- Bring the milk to a boil, then pour it on the roux while stirring vigorously with a whisk to make the mixture dissolve. Pour the milk back into the pot, add the grounded nutmeg, salt and bring it again to a boil while stirring.
- As soon as it starts to thicken. Boil for a 2/3 minutes, until it becomes thick as a cream. Remove from the stove and cover with a lid. You could use plastic wrap but plastic and hot food do not go well together. Microplastics and other toxic compounds may leak into your food.
RAW OR COOKED PASTA?
- Using cooked pasta: bring the water to a boil, add salt and cook a few sheets of pasta at a time for three minutes. In the meantime prepare a large bowl with icy water. Remove the pasta from the pot with a kitchen tong or a fork and put it int the water to stop the cooking process.
- Using raw pasta: if you want to go for the quicker recipe, avoid cooking the pasta and go directly to layering the ingredients. Remember to add some water or to make the sauce and the béchamel a bit more runny to allow the pasta to cook.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
- Set your counter for the layering. Take the saucepan with the tomato sauce, the bowl with the pasta, the white sauce, the mozzarella cheese chopped finely and the parmigiano near the baking tray (40x30cm) you’re going to use to cook the lasagna.
- Start by spreading a spoonful of tomato and white sauce on the base of the tray. Then add the pasta sheets until the bottom is covered.
- Add a ladle of tomato sauce, white sauce, sprinkle some parmigiano and a little mozzarella cheese. Keep layering all the ingredients. If you want a crispy lasagna, you should add more parmigiano on top and less on the inside.
- Cook the lasagna in the oven at 200°C (about 390°F) for about 45 to 55 minutes, depending on how crispy you like the top.
