Lasagne

Toast4532

Hi,

I'm looking for a recipe for lasagne.

I just want something simple, that doesn't require a truck-load of ingredients.

I'd like to make everything from scratch, sauces etc, only the lasagne sheets will be shop bought

I'd like to put a carrot or two and some mushrooms into it too.

I tried it once before, but the recipe had about 30 ingredients and in the end the lasagne turned out bone dry, the sauce and all dried up, so it was a waste of time, effort, ingredients and money and I'd rather not make that mistake again!

Would appreciate any recipes as there are so many out there I really don't know where to start!

homemadecider

Bolognaise:

Celery, carrot and onion - all finely chopped and fry them in gentle heat on olive oil until tender. These three fellas are the building blocks of flavour!

Brown the mince and add it to the chopped veg. I like to do it separately to get rid of excess fat/ water that comes out of the meat.

Then chuck in chopped mushrooms, tin of tomatoes and some good beef stock. I use a bit of herb de provence too. Taste for seasoning - usually a pinch of sugar is needed to get rid of the bitterness from the tin tomatoes, add salt and pepper. Cook on a simmer for as long as you like - 30 mins minimum. If too watery at the end, bang it up on high heat and reduce the liquid.

For the white sauce I use this recipe, it is perfect: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/whitesauce_1298

Put some bolognaise in the bottom of your lasagne dish and spread out into a layer. Put pasta sheets on top, then a layer of white sauce, then more bolognaise. Layer as many times as you like - I usually do 3 layers of pasta.

Top with final layer of white sauce and some grated cheddar/ mozzerella. Cook in the oven for about 30 mins until the pasta is soft all the way through and the cheese is bubbling and golden. C'est voila!

westies4ever

^^^^^
above is almost perfect - i add garlic and oregano to the bolognaise sauce though. the rest is spot on!

Lingua Franca

The above advice is good, especially the part about cooking the mince seperately, but I'd also add that I assemble the bolognaise and lasagna sheets early and let them rest for a while before finishing with the bechamel and the cheese and baking. It allows the sauce to soften the lasagna sheets before baking. I also start with a layer of pasta on the bottom as it makes it easier to serve.

Toast4532

Thanks a million everyone.

Just two more questions - do you soak the pasta sheets in warm water first? Cos the last time I made lasagne I didn't and they were rock hard when I took it out of the oven.

Is there a strong tomato taste from the bolognese? If so, what could I use to get rid of the tomato taste? As I don't like the flavour toms!

banbhaaifric

Plus one to the above..

But I normally put in 3-4 tins of tomato and let it simmer away until you get a nice thick sauce. And tomatoes are good for you! Also good old Heston recommends putting in some star anise and I wouldn't do without it now (just let one simmer in the sauce and fish it out before you assemble the dish), and finally we add some grated cheddar to the white sauce. Very bold, but very tasty...

Lingua Franca

No, as I said I would assemble the lasagne in advance (usually about lunchtime for a dinner service but it would keep in the fridge for days) and let that soften the sheets.

You can make the bolognese sauce to any recipe you like. We use one from Ferran Adrià's The Family Meal which puts emphasis on the meat flavours by cooking it seperately, so it isn't overwhemlmingly tomato-ey. I only ever use a tin of tomatoes since I'm not a fan of puree. You can mask the tomato flavour with red wine and worcestershire sauce and cooking it out long and slow, too.

Lingua Franca

banbhaaifric wrote: »

Also good old Heston recommends putting in some star anise and I wouldn't do without it now (just let one simmer in the sauce and fish it out before you assemble the dish),

Ahh, 100%! Get a big bag of star anise from somewhere and keep them in jar, mince beef is now nothing without it! Whether it's cottage pie or bolognese, chucking a star anise in when cooking the mince makes a world of difference.

Honey-ec

Toast4532 wrote: »

do you soak the pasta sheets in warm water first? Cos the last time I made lasagne I didn't and they were rock hard when I took it out of the oven.

Lingua Franca wrote: »

No, as I said I would assemble the lasagne in advance (usually about lunchtime for a dinner service but it would keep in the fridge for days) and let that soften the sheets

Tbh, I think lasagna (lasagne is actually the plural) benefits hugely from pre-cooking the pasta sheets. Basically, pre-cooking them means that they won't soak up all the sauce from your bolognese, making for a much more unctuous, floppy, sloppy lasagna; which I personally prefer. Imo, lasagna should never stand up on its own when cut!

MagicMarker

I always soak the sheets in some boiled water for about 10 minutes to ensure I don't break my teeth on those pesky edges once out of the oven.

The above recipes sound great. Except carrots have no business being in a lasagna, I taste carrot and I just think I'm eating a cheesy sheppard’s pie.

MagicMarker

Oh and if you're like me and like a little spice, I'd add in a chilli pepper for good measure.

the beer revolu

MagicMarker wrote: »

I always soak the sheets in some boiled water for about 10 minutes to ensure I don't break my teeth on those pesky edges once out of the oven.

The above recipes sound great. Except carrots have no business being in a lasagna, I taste carrot and I just think I'm eating a cheesy sheppard’s pie.

Authentic bolognaise recipes always have carrots in - very small dice and not too much is the trick, celery too. No herbs in authentic recipes or garlic but I often use both. I also like the star anise trick but you gotta take it out before it becomes too upfront tasting.

connollys

MagicMarker wrote: »

I always soak the sheets in some boiled water for about 10 minutes to ensure I don't break my teeth on those pesky edges once out of the oven.

The above recipes sound great. Except carrots have no business being in a lasagna, I taste carrot and I just think I'm eating a cheesy sheppard’s pie.

No carrots is lunacy. As stated above, gotta start with the carrot/onion/celery mix

RacoonQueen

This is the recipe I first used. Like you I wanted something that didn't use a tonne of ingredients. I've tweaked it for myself. Make it like this and it will literally take you all day but it is totally worth it.

Yum.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lasagne_82381

5unflower

Jamie Oliver's lasagna recipe from his ministry of food book has become my standard recipe here, the main difference from other recipes is that it doesn't use bechamel sauce, but simply creme fraîche instead. It's not only one sauce less to prepare, I also find that it tastes lighter and fresher that way.

breen_og

The only thing that I would add here to what every one else as has said is to blitz your carrot onion and celery in a processor. Saves time and adds veggies especially if the kids might not like them!

For white sauce I usually save ham stock from boiled ham or make a load of white sauce when a ham is cooked, if I'm feeling energetic, then freeze that.

Recipe:
500 ml ham stock (you can use chx veg stock or milk instead)
500 ml milk
1/2 an onion studded with a few cloves
2 bay leaf
80 g flour
80g butter

Method:
Scald stock and milk with onion and bayleaf.
Remove bayleaf and onion.

In a heavy based pot melt butter add flour and cook on low heat till you have a slight biscuity aroma. Note you don't want to colour the flour. This means your flour will be cooked

Take your roux off heat and add about 1/4 of the liquid whisking like a mad man.

Return to low-med heat whisking until thickened.

Repeat the process until all the liquid is incorporated.

Your sauce is as thick as its going to get when it starts to bubble.

If you freeze the sauce it can sometimes get lumpy when defrosted. Just blend with a hand blender to make it smooth again

On a side note I like to add a bit of soy to my Bolognese sauce. It acts like salt and a La Heston adds a nice umami kick to the whole dish.

piscesgirl1

1.Finely chop 4 rashers, large onion and 3 cloves garlic and fry in hot oil.
2.Add your mince until browned.
3.Add any other veg you want(carrot, peppers, etc.)
4.Add 1-2 tins chopped tomatoes, carton of passata, salt, black pepper, basil, worcherter sauce, italian seasoning, pinch of parmesan cheese.
5.Let it simmer.
6. Make your roux- 25g butter melt in pan, add tablespoon flour and whisk, then add approx 300mls milk bring to boil continously stiring.
Add grated cheddar cheese and more parmesan.
7. Assemble lasange sprinkling with grated cheese on top.
8. Cook in oven at 200 for 30-40 mins.
9. Enjoy!!

Mrs Fox

+1 on the onion/celery/carrot base. It's the holy trinity of a Ragu. And go on with a couple of garlic cloves, authentic or not.

+1 on the star anise, thanks to Mr. Blumenthal. I've also tried meddling with chinese five spice instead, which contains star anise, and has worked quite well. Not too much or the meat sauce will end up tasting like Peking duck. A pinch will bring the taste of beef to another level.

I top the dish with buffalo mozzarella, and not grated cheddar as I hate how the cheddar starts to ooze out fat if baked long enough.

I personally think three layers of meat-pasta-béchamel is ideal. Adding another layer could make the lasagna a bit heavier than it already is, especially when you're serving it with sides such as garlic bread.

awec

the beer revolu wrote: »

Authentic bolognaise recipes always have carrots in - very small dice and not too much is the trick, celery too. No herbs in authentic recipes or garlic but I often use both. I also like the star anise trick but you gotta take it out before it becomes too upfront tasting.

Carrot is fine, but finding things like peppers in my lasagna drives me nuts. I love peppers, but they have no place in real lasagna.

blueturnip

awec wrote: »

Carrot is fine, but finding things like peppers in my lasagna drives me nuts. I love peppers, but they have no place in real lasagna.

Oh gosh no!! Peppers are lovely in lasagna! Red and green ones, yum yum.

Some great ideas above, I shall be trying some of those.

Depending on my mood, I sometimes add some red wine to the sauce, and sometimes I make the 'bechamel' with cottage cheese.

macsauce

+ on the rashers. Streaky.

April O Neill

Many recipes don't have the pasta pre-cooking step. I'm clueless about pasta as I hate it, but want to learn how to make this for when I move in with my BF soon. So tell me about the pre-cooking bit, peeps!

Also, how would I go about freezing it? Would I bake it first then freeze portions, or portion the unbaked lasagna and bake each separate one?

Interestingly, just before this thread was started I read a review with Paolo Tullio where he explained why you need to precook the sheets before assembling the pasta. Then it came up in this thread too!

fussyonion

April O Neill wrote: »

Many recipes don't have the pasta pre-cooking step. I'm clueless about pasta as I hate it, but want to learn how to make this for when I move in with my BF soon. So tell me about the pre-cooking bit, peeps!

Also, how would I go about freezing it? Would I bake it first then freeze portions, or portion the unbaked lasagna and bake each separate one?

Interestingly, just before this thread was started I read a review with Paolo Tullio where he explained why you need to precook the sheets before assembling the pasta. Then it came up in this thread too!

Sorry, can't advise you on the pre-cooking of the lasagne as I don't do it, but I assume you just drop the sheets into boiling water for a few minutes until soft?

Regarding freezing, I always freeze leftover lasagne..the whole lot and then let it defrost the night before I want to re-heat it, and it's fine.

Don't make the mistake I did and heat it FROM frozen as the lasagne has a tendency to go rock hard and burn.

Waitsian

My advice? Don't use white sauce. Use Cottage cheese. An Italian born woman taught my mother how to make it, and she suggested Cottage cheese as a Ricotta substitute (which wasn't readily available in 1969).

Our family have been eating it like that ever since and it's delicious. We wouldn't dream of putting white sauce in it. Mozzarella, Parmesan and Cottage cheeses with the other standard ingredients.

Mrs Fox

mod9maple wrote: »

My advice? Don't use white sauce. Use Cottage cheese. An Italian born woman taught my mother how to make it, and she suggested Cottage cheese as a Ricotta substitute (which wasn't readily available in 1969).

Our family have been eating it like that ever since and it's delicious. We wouldn't dream of putting white sauce in it. Mozzarella, Parmesan and Cottage cheeses with the other standard ingredients.

American recipes usually use cottage/ricotta. As they say each to their own but I find this makes the lasagna very very hearty and heavy.
I've also tried using mascarpone and milk combo-- it was quite nice and not as heavy.

Honey-ec

April O Neill wrote: »

Many recipes don't have the pasta pre-cooking step. I'm clueless about pasta as I hate it, but want to learn how to make this for when I move in with my BF soon. So tell me about the pre-cooking bit, peeps!

Also, how would I go about freezing it? Would I bake it first then freeze portions, or portion the unbaked lasagna and bake each separate one?

Interestingly, just before this thread was started I read a review with Paolo Tullio where he explained why you need to precook the sheets before assembling the pasta. Then it came up in this thread too!

Just plop them into a pot of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes. They don't need to be cooked completely through, just softened. Use your biggest pot, or don't do more than about 3 at a time, though, otherwise they'll just stick together. Fill the sink with cold water and bung them in there as you're done with them, then assemble your lasagna as normal.

As regards the freezing: if you're planning to freeze a whole lasagna, then freeze it uncooked; then defrost and bake as normal.

If it's leftovers/individual portions, then cook it first, then portion, freeze and zap in the micro as needed.

woodchuck

Toast4532 wrote: »

Thanks a million everyone.

Just two more questions - do you soak the pasta sheets in warm water first? Cos the last time I made lasagne I didn't and they were rock hard when I took it out of the oven.

Is there a strong tomato taste from the bolognese? If so, what could I use to get rid of the tomato taste? As I don't like the flavour toms!

If its tasting too tomatoey or tart, I add a squirt of BBQ sauce (~1-2 tablespoons per big pot). I'm sure all the culinary connoisseurs will shoot me down for saying that, but I swear it works! Just enough to make it a little sweeter, but not enough that you can actually taste the BBQ flavour.

Also I find I'm too lazy to presoak my pasta sheets. But you get the same effect (non-crunchy pasta) if you just prepare it all ahead of time. If it has an hour or two to just sit there before you put it in the oven, the moisture and heat from the sauces will naturally start to soften the pasta.

April O Neill

fussyonion wrote: »

Sorry, can't advise you on the pre-cooking of the lasagne as I don't do it, but I assume you just drop the sheets into boiling water for a few minutes until soft?

Regarding freezing, I always freeze leftover lasagne..the whole lot and then let it defrost the night before I want to re-heat it, and it's fine.

Don't make the mistake I did and heat it FROM frozen as the lasagne has a tendency to go rock hard and burn.

Honey-ec wrote: »

Just plop them into a pot of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes. They don't need to be cooked completely through, just softened. Use your biggest pot, or don't do more than about 3 at a time, though, otherwise they'll just stick together. Fill the sink with cold water and bung them in there as you're done with them, then assemble your lasagna as normal.

As regards the freezing: if you're planning to freeze a whole lasagna, then freeze it uncooked; then defrost and bake as normal.

If it's leftovers/individual portions, then cook it first, then portion, freeze and zap in the micro as needed.

Thanks!

Honey-ec

woodchuck wrote: »

If it has an hour or two to just sit there before you put it in the oven, the moisture and heat from the sauces will naturally start to soften the pasta.

Yeah, but the problem with that is that the pasta is absorbing all the moisture from your sauce. Fair enough if you like quite a stiff lasagna, but personally I prefer it with virtually no structure once it's cut.

Btw, another good cheat's bechemel is 250ml natural yoghurt, beaten with an egg, a pinch of salt and nutmeg to taste. You'd be shot for doing it in Italy, but it takes seconds and is a fantastic lower-fat option.

dyer

i usually make a veg lasagne, miles better than mince in my view! i know you asked for a quick recipe but a lasagne that has been properly slaved over is something to behold this is a recipe ive mashed together from a few different ones out there that ive tried over the years.

ingredients:
1 courgette, sliced
1 aubergine, sliced
1 red onion
spinach
sliced mushrooms
grated cheddar and some parmesan if desired
jar of passata
2/3 cloves of garlic
parsley, basil (must be fresh!), oregano and 1 bay leaf
dried or freshly made lasagne sheets
and of course salt and pepper to season.

for bechamel:
milk / flour / butter / nutmeg or mace
(you could also substitute the bechamel for ricotta and it still tastes great)

btw, this all goes into your typical lasagne type dish.

method:
you need to fry or bake the aubergine and zuchini, otherwise they will be soggy when added to the dish later. i prefer to fry (the oil needs to be hot, especially for the aubergine as it will soak it all up otherwise) do in batches and lay on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. you can do them on a tray in the oven which is less tedious if youre pressed for time.. but either way will work.

next, heat some olive oil in a pot, add the onions and soften, then add mushroms and continue to cook until those are softened too. add the jar of passata and drop in a bay leaf. most recipies call for the garlic to be added to the oil first but i prefer to just crush it and throw it in at this stage, i've never really noticed a difference.. and on the plus side you dont get burnt bits of garlic in there. add some oregano (less is more) and basil (more is umm.. moar!) warm the sauce gently until it bubbles and then season with salt and pepper to taste. if the sauce tastes slightly bitter because of the tomatoes, you can add some sugar or honey to sweeten to your liking. allow sauce to thicken for a while then add as little or as much spinach as you want and remove from heat.

for the bechamel, make a basic roux (recipe can be found easily online, here's one that looks okay). 4 cups of milk equates to just under two pints. one thing they generally fail to mention is that you need to cook the floor and butter together for a while before adding the milk otherwise it will retain a 'floury' taste. the milk should be warm before adding it too or it will turn out lumpy. its also a good idea to keep the bechamel warm before you start the next step as it makes it much easier to spread.

now just to throw it all together!

i dont really worry too much about how i layer things but i usually start with some pasta sheets (break some sheets on the side of the dish to fill any gaps along the sides etc), followed by tomato sauce, then some veg, bechamel and some grated parmesan. repeat until all the ingredients are used up, but make sure you have enough tomato sauce and bechamel left to cover one last layer of pasta (i find this way the pasta doesn't go hard if using dried sheets).

cover with a generous amount of grated cheddar and dot with real butter. bang it in the oven at 180 degrees for about 30 mins or whenever the cheese has melted and turned a golden brown. remove from the oven and top with some freshly and finely chopped parsley (it makes a difference).

i never freeze it either, firstly because it's either gone the first night, and if there is anything left over, it'll taste even better the next day once all the flavours have had a good chance to mingle!

ebixa82

Two tips...

1) I always allow it to set before serving, take it out of the oven, allow it to cool for an hour or so. It can then be bunged back in just before plating...this prevents it from being a big sloppy (although very tasty) mess all over the place.

2) When freezing, wrap each individual portion in tinfoil and place in freezer. Take the portion out of the freezer that morning. NEVER use a microwave to re-heat as it destroys the texture of the lasagne and dries the ragu. Leave wrapped in tinfoil and place in oven at 180 degrees or so for about an hour. This ensures the lasagne tastes and feels just as good as it did first time round.

hardCopy

mod9maple wrote: »

My advice? Don't use white sauce. Use Cottage cheese. An Italian born woman taught my mother how to make it, and she suggested Cottage cheese as a Ricotta substitute (which wasn't readily available in 1969).

Our family have been eating it like that ever since and it's delicious. We wouldn't dream of putting white sauce in it. Mozzarella, Parmesan and Cottage cheeses with the other standard ingredients.

Also delicious if you blend the cottage cheese with chopped spinach and basil and a bit of green pesto.

Mrs Fox

hardCopy wrote: »

Also delicious if you blend the cottage cheese with chopped spinach and basil and a bit of green pesto.

That actually does sound delicious

Mrs Fox

dyer wrote: »

i dont really worry too much about how i layer things but i usually start with some pasta sheets (break some sheets on the side of the dish to fill any gaps along the sides etc), followed by tomato sauce, then some veg, bechamel and some grated parmesan. repeat until all the ingredients are used up, but make sure you have enough tomato sauce and bechamel left to cover one last layer of pasta (i find this way the pasta doesn't go hard if using dried sheets).

I made lasagna last night and took your advice of starting the layer with pasta. I liked how it came clean when you dish it out. Great tip, thanks!

Meteoric

Mrs Fox wrote: »

I made lasagna last night and took your advice of starting the layer with pasta. I liked how it came clean when you dish it out. Great tip, thanks!

That is more or less how I do it, I never pre soak the sheets but I make the meat/veg sauce more liquid than I would for a just pasta sauce, I carefully sink the ladle into the sauce and get a ladle which is only liquid (as much as possible) put that in the base so it is under the bottom layer for the liquid to soften the sheets but not leave too much of a mess. Then layer above that. Always works for me.

Baggy Trousers

Does anyone boil the pasta sheets before putting them in the lasagne?
My pasta sheets often come out too hard or all dry/burnt.

Tree

I soak mine in water for 30mins or so. Doesnt have to be warm water. This tip courtesy of the Ideas in Food folks. Works really well, hydrates the pasta without needing to mess about with hot water, and it cooks cooks when the lasagne is baked anyway

the beer revolu

Baggy Trousers wrote: »

Does anyone boil the pasta sheets before putting them in the lasagne?
My pasta sheets often come out too hard or all dry/burnt.

This is much discussed in this thread.