Lasagna is a classic Italian dish that alternates thin layers of pasta sheets, a delicate creamy béchamel sauce, and a rich meat sauce bolognese. All of this is seasoned with a mix of traditional Italian spices – basil, oregano, thyme, nutmeg, and topped with a crispy crust of parmesan.
The homeland of lasagna is the Emilia-Romagna region, where pasta began to be made back in ancient Rome. The word "lasagna" comes from the Greek lasanon, which means "cooking pot," which the Romans later used to name the dish itself.
There are countless variations of lasagna: from classic bolognese to versions with vegetables, spinach, mushrooms, or even seafood. In Eastern cuisine, there is a very similar dish – moussaka, where instead of pasta, eggplant is used. It replaces the layer of dough. Also, in it, pork is not used for the meat sauce.
We decided to prepare a lasagna as close to the classic version as possible, analyzing a dozen different recipes. During our research, we realized that Italian lasagna is like our Ukrainian borscht; every cook has their own secret or "trick" for preparation. So, without further ado, we share our experience.
Time required: up to 4 hours
Difficulty: 3 out of 5
Cost: above average
We will need:
For the bolognese:
2 medium onions (100-150 g)
1 medium carrot (150-200 g)
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil for frying
500 g of veal (or beef) minced meat
250 g of pork minced meat
150 ml of dry wine (this time we used white, red can also be used)
400 g of peeled tomatoes
200 ml of water
salt, black ground pepper
dried herbs: a mix of oregano and basil (you can use a ready-made spice "Italian herbs") – to taste
продуктовий набір для соусу болоньєзе
For the béchamel sauce:
50 g of butter
50 g of flour
500 ml of milk
a pinch of grated nutmeg (preferably use fresh and grate it yourself)
salt to taste
продуктовий набір для соусу бешамель
For assembling:
lasagna sheets - 8-10 pcs, 150-200 g (depending on the shape). We used ready-made ones that do not require boiling
mozzarella cheese - 100 g
parmesan cheese – 100 g (grana padano can be used)
трохи спойлера для етапу збирання
From these ingredients, we prepared lasagna for 9 servings.
Preparation
Preparing the bolognese
First, we will prepare the bolognese sauce, as it takes the longest – two hours plus a bit.
We chop the onion and carrot into small cubes, crush the garlic with the blade of a knife and also chop it.
нарізані овочі
We choose a large frying pan, preferably with a thick bottom and a lid, as we will stew the sauce in it. We place it on the heat, add olive oil.
розігріваємо пательню
We add the garlic, sauté for a few seconds (just enough for it to release its aroma into the oil without burning).
всього кілька секунд!
After that, we add the onion and carrot and sauté until the onion is slightly golden.
+ цибуля
+ морква
We add the minced meat, sauté until the excess moisture evaporates. We mix it thoroughly to avoid forming meat lumps.
+ фарш
When the minced meat has lost excess moisture and has taken on a gray-brown color, it's time to add the wine.
+ вино
We mix the mass thoroughly and wait for the wine to evaporate completely. Only then do we add salt and spices, peeled tomatoes, water, mix thoroughly, reduce the heat, cover with a lid (you can leave it uncovered, but then there is a high chance of spending time cleaning the work area after making bolognese) and stew for one and a half to two hours.
додаємо томати пелаті, спеції, воду
вимішуємо та тушкуємо
Every 20 minutes, we stir the sauce with a spatula. As a result, the moisture should evaporate, the carrot and meat should become soft, and the sauce should acquire a dense and thick consistency. We remove the frying pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
Preparing the béchamel
We started preparing the béchamel sauce at the end of stewing the bolognese, as it takes no more than ten minutes to make.
First, we heat the milk in a pot and set it aside. We grate the nutmeg, which we will need a little later, and set it aside as well.
ми придбали цілі мускатні горіхи. В комплекті з ними зразу йшла міні-терка
In a frying pan, we melt the butter and remove it from the heat.
We add the flour to the butter, mixing thoroughly and quickly with a whisk.
We return it to the heat and, while continuously stirring with a whisk, cook until it turns a light golden color. From this moment, we start pouring in the milk, actively mixing the sauce with a whisk to prevent lumps of flour from forming. The sauce will thicken very quickly, so this stage requires special attention.
When the mixture has thickened, it's time to add a pinch of salt and grated nutmeg. We turn off the heat, taste to see if there is enough salt, and mix thoroughly once more. Now we can move on to the lasagna assembling stage.
готові соуси
Assembling the lasagna
We grease the baking dish with olive oil. The first layer is lasagna sheets; however, if you want a creamier dish, you can lay down the béchamel sauce as the first layer and then the pasta sheets on top. Next, we layer the bolognese and cover it again with béchamel. The next sheets of pasta are laid perpendicularly to the previous ones. We changed the sequence and laid down the pasta sheet, then béchamel, and on top bolognese. We ended up with a three-layer lasagna.
збери сам)
шар 2
на лист
верхній шар з соусу бешамель
We cover the top with all the remaining béchamel sauce. We place the grated mozzarella (you can simply cut it into slices and spread it over the surface) and sprinkle with grated parmesan.
+ моцарела
+ пармезан
готова до випікання лазанья
We send it to bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees (with both upper and lower heating elements on, convection mode) for 30 minutes.
відправили в духовку
In the last 5-7 minutes, we raise the temperature to 210 degrees to ensure the parmesan browns and becomes crispy.
ооось така золотава скоринка нам необхідна
We take it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes (during which time we drool from the fantastic aromas).
вийняли з духовки
We cut into portioned pieces, remove from the dish, and enjoy.
