Lasagna
This recipe includes the recipe for making the Bolognese sauce which you can replace with commercially available Bolognese sauce like Prego's, etc. It will cut down your preparation time by half. If using ready made Bolognese sauce, you may skip the steps for making the Bolognese sauce.
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
Bachemel Sauce
Instructions
Meat Sauce
-
Saute the meat
-
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add in the onion and carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until softened. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
-
Add beef and/or pork (if using) and cook while breaking it up with the end of your spoon, until browned.
-
-
If cooking your own Bolognese sauce
-
Pour in the Passata, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and dried herbs.
-
Mix well to combine, add in the bouillon cube and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
-
Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes on low heat, occasionally mixing, until the sauce has thickened slightly and meat is tender.
- Adjust with salt, pepper, sugar and dried herbs to your taste.
-
-
If using ready made Bolognese sauce
-
Pour in 1 bottle of ready made Bolognese sauce. Mix well to combine and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
-
Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes on low heat, occasionally mixing, until the sauce has thickened slightly and meat is tender.
-
Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs to your taste.
-
Cook the béchamel sauce
-
-
In a large non-stick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat.
-
Add the flour 1 tbsp at a time, and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until well blended.
-
Place pan back onto stove, reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in 1 cup of the milk until well combined. Once well blended, add the remaining milk in 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the sauce is free from lumps and has a creamy consistency. If the sauce is too thick after using all the milk, add a little more milk until it turns into a nice and creamy consistency.
-
Increase heat to medium and continue cooking sauce while stirring occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 minutes) and coats the back of your wooden spoon.
-
Add in the parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and mix until the cheese has melted throughout.
-
Assemble the lasagna
-
-
Preheat oven to 350°F | 180°C.
-
Spoon about 1 cup of meat sauce on the base of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
-
Cover with a layer of lasagna sheets. Trim sheets to fit over the meat if needed.
-
Layer with just enough meat sauce to cover the pasta.
-
Layer with just enough of béchamel sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese to cover the meat sauce.
-
Repeat steps 3-5, leaving 1/3 of the remaining cheese for the top.
-
Pour the remaining meat sauce over the last layer of lasagna sheets.
-
Pour the remaining béchamel sauce over the meat sauce and top it up with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
-
Bake for 15 minutes, and thereafter, in increments of 5 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling. Watch out for the cheese burning after 15 minutes.
-
Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
-
Note
*Fresh lasagna sheets are found in the refrigerator section of most grocery stores. Fresh lasagna sheets are preferred but if you can't find or don't have access to fresh, you can use dried.
No Cook or Instant Lasagna sheets can be used without pre-boiling (check the packet instructions first). You can assemble as normal. To ensure the pasta has enough liquid to cook through while the lasagna is baking, add about 1/2 cup more stock to the meat sauce when using instant lasagna sheets.
Pre Boil Or Pre Cook Lasagna Sheets need to be boiled first before assembly. Follow the instructions on the packet. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the water to prevent the sheets from sticking together, and stir them occasionally with a wooden spoon. Transfer each cooked lasagna sheet carefully into a large bowl or pot filled with cool water to help stop the cooking process. Leave them in there until ready to use. This helps prevent them from sticking together or drying out.
