Lasagna is one of the best Italian dishes that can bring its eaters comfort and warmth. Besides, everything that has cheese on it, is a winner in my book. Therefore in this article I have decided to give you my ultimate and best lasagna recipe. It is easy to make, fast and cheap. Everything a good lasagna recipe requires.
Hopefully you enjoy this lasagna recipe. At the end of the article find some tips for how to make the cooking process more efficient and easy.
The list of ingredients
Lasagna can be cooked fairly simply however you can also add some of your favorite veggies to it which is what I choose to do.
So here is the list of my ingredients:
- Lasagna plates
- 300g minced meat
- 80g bacon
- 150g vegetable stock
- 2 tomatoes
- 1onion
- 150 tomato sauce
- 4 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 stalk of celery
- 7 mushrooms
- 1 bell pepper
- 50g butter
- 150g milk
Ingredients for the sauce:
- 50g butter
- 50g flour
- 700ml milk
- 125g grated cheese
- extra butter for the pan
How to cook lasagna
Here are the basic steps on how to cook your lasagna. The total cooking time is around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Base
1. Grate the carrots and chop the onion. Fry finely chopped bacon in butter in a pot or pan with high sides. Add carrots and your finely chopped celery stalks.
2. When they are fried, add minced meat (I usually use beef or young cattle). Fry everything together for a while. While the ingredients are frying on low heat, pour boiling water over the tomatoes and peel them off. Chop them up.
3. Add chopped peppers and mushrooms and tomatoes to the pot. Press the garlic and add the broth. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add tomato sauce (may also have additives) and spices. Continue to stew for about 5 minutes. Then add warm milk. Put a lid on the pot and simmer the sauce on low heat for about 20-25 minutes.
5. While the meat sauce is cooking, in a large bowl of warm (but not boiling) water, alternately place the lasagna sheets on top of each other so that they become flexible and easy to spread. You can add a little oil to the water so that the plates do not stick together.
Bechamel sauce
6. Start making Béchamel sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, but make sure it doesn’t brown, so it’s better to melt it on a very low flame. Add the flour and let it brown a little. After that, gradually pour in the milk and stir intensively so that no lumps form.
When the mass has become creamy and homogeneous, slowly add the remaining amount of milk and mix thoroughly. Let the milk heat up. Then pour grated cheese into the pot. Freshly chopped greens and stir while the sauce thickens.
The last steps
7. Meat sauce should not be runny, but juicy. Grease the baking dish with butter and pour a layer of Béchamel sauce into it with a ladle. Then put a layer of soaked lasagna sheets. Place the meat sauce on top of them. Pour over the white sauce. Then put lasagna plates, minced meat sauce, white sauce, etc. until the container is full.
8. Carefully cover the top layer of lasagna sheets with the white sauce, otherwise the uncovered pasta will dry out. A little grated cheese can be sprinkled over everything if desired. Place the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
Tips for cooking your lasagna recipe
– Lasagna is usually prepared and baked in a large common pan, but it can also be prepared in individual serving dishes.
When preparing lasagna, you should not exaggerate with the variety of products, observe their taste compatibility.
– In order for the lasagna to be soft and juicy, make enough sauce. Always put a little sauce in the bottom of the mold and only then put the uncooked plates.
– If the dimensions of the mold allow, the plates are placed in it alternately in both directions. The lasagna will hold together better and will be easier to cut.
– Lasagna plates can be broken into pieces to fit the size and shape of the molds. They do not need to be boiled unless specifically instructed to do so on the package.
– If the paste plates are to be boiled, then it is important not to boil them. Boil them for just a few minutes and quickly cool them in cold water.
Hopefully you will find this lasagna recipe useful!
Check out some of our other recipes here – Vegan pasta recipes and Solyanka soup recipe.