Is there really anyone who, when asked “ Lasagna ? ”, has ever managed to answer “ No! ”?
If you're one of these people, we at Mamù are wondering what you're still doing here wasting your time. If, on the other hand, you're one of those who would eat lasagna every Sunday but are moving far away from... mom and you want to test the saying " good blood does not lie ", then you are in the right place! Now we will reveal to you the recipe for baked lasagna!
First, a premise: lasagna like the one you've learned to love at home is only eaten at home. If you want to learn a recipe to make it yourself, you should also know that there are a thousand variations. Once you know which version best matches your taste, then you can think about creating your own unique recipe.
Let's start with the basics: the original baked lasagna recipe is Bolognese, with ragù, béchamel, and a parmesan crust on top. But don't panic. Making baked lasagna isn't as difficult as it might seem to newcomers. Let's start with choosing the ingredients.
Baked lasagna recipe: a tip on the ingredients
Starting with the right ingredients will make your recipe better and tastier. But there are a few things to know before you dive in with a knife between your teeth:
- If you make the ragù yourself, choose very freshly minced meat and remember to add the pancetta to the sauté.
- Speaking of pancetta, choose the sweet kind because the smoked kind can alter the flavor too much.
- For the ragù, choose a tomato sauce with a low acidity level.
- If you choose to make your own bechamel sauce, congratulations! You have guts, as well as great taste. Anything you can make at home will make your recipe even more special.
- When choosing your pasta, we recommend choosing fresh egg puff pastry.
Difficulty: Not very high
Preparation: 120 min
Cooking time: 180 min
Cost: Medium
Ingredients for four people:
- 500 g ragù
- 12 sheets of fresh lasagna
- 500 ml béchamel sauce
- 120 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 40 g butter
Baked lasagna recipe: ragù
Making the ragù is perhaps the most exciting challenge in making a lasagna ( spoiler : no, it's more difficult to make the béchamel sauce, but we'll talk about that later ). It certainly takes time: At least three and a half hours is the minimum to prepare a decent ragù . For this part of the recipe alone, you'll need:
- 350g of minced meat
- 100g chopped celery, carrots and onions
- 75g of stretched bacon
- 50 ml of milk
- 1.5 l of meat broth
- 100 g of tomato paste
- salt and white wine to taste
The procedure:
- Take the pancetta and mince it until it becomes a fine, smooth paste.
- Heat a pan large enough to fry the bacon for at least 5 minutes.
- Chop the vegetables and add them to the pancetta with two tablespoons of oil. Sauté for about three minutes.
- At this point, you can add the minced meat. Let it fry for another two to three minutes.
- This is the wine's moment. Not to drink, but to add to the wine to deglaze until the alcohol evaporates completely.
- Add the tomato paste. Wait for it to boil and season with salt.
- Cooking can now continue for three hours. But stick around: you'll need to stir occasionally and add more beef broth if necessary.
- After three hours, you can add the milk and continue cooking for another half hour. The milk helps enhance the sauce's flavor.
Baked lasagna recipe: bechamel sauce
As we mentioned before, what will really make your guests jump out of their seats (hopefully because of the delicious flavor) will be the homemade béchamel sauce. For the ingredients:
- 100 g of flour
- 100 g of butter 1 l of milk
- salt to taste
- nutmeg to taste
The technical part, however, is this:
- Put on low heat a Mamù pan with some butter, and wait for it to melt.
- Add the flour little by little, mixing until you obtain a creamy mixture.
- Place the milk in a separate saucepan and bring to a boil. Add nutmeg and salt.
- At this point you can add the cream.
- Cook and stir over low heat for a couple of minutes: there you have it, the béchamel sauce.
Baked lasagna recipe: building the pan
There's not much time left, and soon you'll have made your first baked lasagna . All that's left is to assemble all the ingredients in the pan (at least 35x22 cm) and bake. Now it's time for the legendary layering of puff pastry: there must be at least seven.
- Grease the pan with butter. Spread a layer of ragù, béchamel, and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with the first layer of puff pastry. You can poke small holes with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
- Add the second layer: more sauce, parmesan, béchamel.
- Make another layer of puff pastry, remembering to pierce the edges. Continue until you run out of ingredients.
- When you reach the last layer, spread the ragù and béchamel evenly and cover it with the last layer of puff pastry.
- For the crispy layer, add grated Parmesan cheese and flakes of butter. Don't forget the corners!
- Place the lasagna on the lower shelf of the oven for twenty minutes at 180°.
- Turn on the grill function, move the pan to the middle shelf and cook for another five minutes.
Now all you have to do is take it out, let it cool a bit, and get going! Enjoy your meal!
