Lasagna

Name: Lasagna
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion (, finely chopped (white, yellow or brown)); 1 medium carrot (, peeled and very finely diced); 1 celery stick (, very finely diced); 2 garlic cloves (, minced); 1 kg / 2 lb beef mince ((ground beef) (Note 1)); 800g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato; 1/4 cup tomato paste; 1 cup pinot noir red wine (, or other dry red wine (Note 2)); 3 beef bouillon cubes (, crumbled); 2 bay leaves (, dried or fresh); 1/2 tsp EACH dried thyme and oregano; 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce; 1 - 2 tsp sugar ((if needed - Note 3)); 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper; 60g / 4 tbsp butter; 1/2 cup flour; 4 cups milk (, preferably full fat but low fat ok); 2 cups gruyere or Colby cheese (, shred yourself (or cheddar, Monterey Jack, OR 1 cup / 100g shredded parmesan) (Note 4)); Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg; Salt and pepper; 350g/ 12 oz fresh lasagna sheets ((or 250g/8oz dried) (Note 5)); 1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) mozzarella cheese (, shred yourself (Note 4)); Finely chopped basil or parsley (, for garnish (optional))

Instructions

Prep:20minCook:4h

Recipe video above. One of my signature recipes! This is a lasagna made the traditional Italian way, with a slow cooked ragu and a béchamel sauce ("Besciamella"). No ricotta - that's the American-Italian version. Though it requires patience to make, it is worth every minute. The ragu bolognese is melt-in-you-mouth tender and the sauce is rich and thick. Makes 8 giant or 10 normal servings. This lasagna has 4 layers of lasagna sheets with 3 layers of meat and cheese sauce, then finished with a cheese sauce topping. You could stretch it to 4 ragu layers. If making 5 layers, scale up the recipe by 25% (click on servings and slide) and use a very deep pan!

Updated at: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 12:54:56 GMT