Lasagna Recipe – How to make lasagna
Posted on Jun 10, 2009 06:46:02 AM
I should have maybe started with my family’s lasagna recipe (which, by the way, we call pasticcio), made with bolognese sauce and béchamel, but I went for a lighter version with tomato sauce instead.
The first thing you need for lasagna is fresh pasta. If you want to try the experience of making it yourself, follow the homemade pasta recipe. Otherwise check your supermarket, they probably sell ready pasta sheets. One of the good things about making pasta yourself though, is that you can decide how thick the sheets will be. For these lasagnas we made them very thin, and as a result the lasagna literally melted in our mouths, even though the lasagna fell apart when it was transferred to the dish, but it was worth it.
This is how to make lasagna. You will need:
- 1 or 2 tins of sieved tomatoes (passata di pomodoro), or chopped tomatoes, salted
- 1 or two balls of mozzarella cheese, torn in pieces
- a handful of grated Parmesan cheese
- Brie, diced
The quantities of ingredients for this lasagna recipe can vary here, the important thing is the right balance on each layer. The reason why I’ve included brie (definitely not part of the traditional recipe) is that tomato sauce has a less strong taste than bolognese sauce, and this should be balanced with a cheese with a stronger taste. Mozzarella is there because it melts, and also because an all-Brie lasagna would be unbearably heavy.
To cook the pasta you’ll need:
- the usual boiling salted water in the usual pan. This time and this time only you are allowed to add some olive oil to the water
- a bowl filled with cold water
- a clean and dry cloth, unfolded
Put the pasta sheets in the boiling water, 2-3 at the time, for 2-3 minutes (or whatever the packet says if you’re using ready-made pasta), then put them in the cold water until they’re cooled, then lay them on the cloth to drain the excess of water.
When there’s no room left on the cloth, preheat the oven at 180°C /350°F and start building the layers, picking up first the pasta that you cooked first. Each layer will have:
1 sheet of pasta (or the necessary to cover the surface of the container you’re using + tomato sauce + 2-3 pieces of mozzarella + 1-2 pieces of Brie + one sprinkle of Parmesan
When you’ve reached the top, this recipe for lasagna is almost over: finish with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the edges are crusty and the surface is brownish. Ecco fatto, the lasagna is ready.
There will be more lasagna recipes in the future, but the pasta machine had an accident, and I’ll have to get a new one. I don’t want to sound too Italian, but I somehow can’t accept the idea of using pre-made lasagna noodles.
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