A good lasagna takes time and patience, many delicious ingredients, and of course, an excellent sauce. If these criteria are met, you get a perfect lasagna and not a mushy, indefinable pile of noodles.
Recipe for a lasagna – guaranteed to succeed!
Ingredients:
- approx. 12 lasagna sheets/pasta sheets
- 500g mixed minced meat
- 1 onion
- 150 g carrots
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- Salt & pepper
- Oregano
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 50 g butter or margarine
- 500 ml broth or stock
- 1 cup crème fraîche
- 100 g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 clove of garlic
Instructions:
Tips for the beginning:
- Fresh oregano makes the lasagna flavorful and adds zest. If you can't find fresh, you can also use the dried version.
- Organic carrots not only taste excellent, their quality is also better. You should pay attention to this when buying.
- Garlic cloves should always be fresh and firm – older cloves are not recommended.
- For the béchamel sauce, it is better to use only butter or margarine instead of low-fat margarine. This contains too high a water content.
- Tomatoes for the Bolognese do not necessarily have to be fresh. Canned tomatoes have a good, strong aroma and, despite preservation, contain many good secondary plant compounds.
The Bolognese
- For the Bolognese, peel and finely dice the onion and garlic clove. Peel, wash, and dice the carrots into small cubes as well. Now, heat some oil in a large pan and pre-cook the vegetables over medium heat.
- After 10 minutes remove the vegetables to a bowl and brown the minced meat in the same pan, season with salt, pepper, and oregano, and finally mix in the tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Now just add the vegetables and bay leaves and let everything cook for another a quarter of an hour over low heat until the tomato liquid has been absorbed.
The Béchamel sauce
- For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a pot and stir in the flour well until lumps form. To create a creamy sauce, whisk in the broth (or stock or milk) well. While stirring constantly over low heat, let the sauce simmer for about 3 minutes until it becomes nice, smooth, and creamy.
- Now you can fold in some crème fraîche and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, and season with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg if needed.
- Now preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Layering the lasagna
- In a baking dish, the lasagna is now layered step by step. First, start with 4-5 tablespoons of béchamel sauce, spread smoothly on the bottom. Now follows the first layer of lasagna sheets before a layer of Bolognese follows. A few tablespoons of béchamel sauce are also added to the Bolognese before using more lasagna sheets. This way, all ingredients are used up, which sometimes form 3-4 layers.
- Finally, a layer of béchamel sauce is placed on the last lasagna sheets so that the pasta sheets can cook through. The pasta needs plenty of liquid to become al dente.
- Finally, add the remaining crème fraîche and the Parmesan cheese as a topping on the lasagna. Place the baking dish on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 40-60 minutes at 180°C top and bottom heat. If the crust gets dark too quickly, you can cover the lasagna with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Tip: the lasagna can be prepared in advance and varied in many ways. Whether a vegetarian version or with colorful pasta sheets – the possibilities are manifold depending on your taste. If you don't want to use crème fraîche for the lasagna, you can also use cream cheese as a substitute.
Note: the pasta sheets just won't get soft despite the specified baking time? Then you can pre-cook them next time; this will make the lasagna softer. If you prefer it firmer, you can skip this step.
Photo by Janine, meinhaushalt.at
Read also: Recipe Pesto alla Genovese
