You can't not love lasagna, a staple of Italian cuisine. Traditional lasagna consists of layers of pasta, Bolognese sauce, and a very creamy bechamel sauce. In the end, you get a delicious, hot, and cheesy dish.
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To prepare your lasagna, you will need a gratin dish. Be sure to adapt the size of the dish to the number of guests.
The biggest advantage of making lasagna is that you can make it in advance. In fact, it tastes even better when it was made the day before. This makes it a delicious dish that's also practical for dinner with friends or family and will be a hit every time.
Also, note that lasagna freezes very well and can be stored for two to three months. You know what to do if you have leftovers...
Lump-free bechamel sauce
If you're going to make lasagna, you'll need bechamel sauce. It brings a soft, very rich touch to the recipe. This sauce requires very few ingredients and is easy to make. Just heat a little butter, add flour or cornstarch to form a thick paste, then add the milk without stirring.
However, you're likely to have small lumps in your mixture To be sure to have a smooth, flawless sauce, simply mix it before or after you add all the ingredients. If you blend it, the texture of your sauce will be perfect.
To give your lasagna extra cheesy flavour, you can add 100 g of grated parmesan cheese to your bechamel.
A delicious Bolognese sauce
Bolognese sauce is extremely important because it will add flavour to your lasagna. It's best to cook it in advance so that it has more flavour and your sauce is tasty.
So just mix an onion, some garlic, celery, carrots, and tomatoes, then add the beef. Some recipes suggest switching up the meat by adding sausage meat or pancetta to it. Once your sauce is well-cooked and simmered, add some flavour to it with fresh basil.
Be generous with the sauce. That way, your lasagna will be fully-loaded.
Perfectly cooked pasta
To have perfectly cooked lasagna, it's best to avoid pre-cooking the dough sheets. Indeed, pre-cooking will make it difficult to handle the pasta and therefore, put the lasagna together. Opt for good quality lasagna noodles and be generous with bechamel sauce and Bolognese. If it's nice and moist, the pasta will absorb the excess and cook slowly when soaked in the sauces.
Baking instructions
A good lasagna is gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside. For a perfectly cooked lasagna, preheat your oven to 190° C. Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes until the cheese on top is browned.
If you prefer juicier lasagna, put a ramekin of water in the oven at the same time as the lasagna. This will create steam and prevent your lasagna from drying out.
Original toppings
Want to try a less traditional lasagna recipe? You sure can! Try a meatless tomato sauce with just vegetables or with tofu instead of ground beef. You'll get a veggie Bolognese sauce.
You can also swap in the following toppings:
- Butternut + meat
- Butternut + mushrooms
- Spinach + ricotta
- Salmon + spinach
- Salmon + leeks
- Eggplant + sun-dried tomatoes
You've got this!
