Description
This authentic Italian lasagne features layers of rich tomato meat sauce, creamy white sauce, and melted mozzarella, perfect for a family Sunday feast.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 800g canned tomato puree
- 400g minced meat (pork and beef) or 400g pork ribs
- 3 Italian sausages
- 1/2 carrot, finely chopped
- 1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 400ml water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Chili pepper, optional
- 500g dried lasagne sheets
- 500g mozzarella cheese, sliced
- For the white sauce:
- 100g butter
- 100g all-purpose flour
- 1 liter milk
- Nutmeg, to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce: chop finely the onion, the carrot and the celery. Heat a sauce pan, add the oil and the veggies and let them cook for a couple of minutes. If you like you can add chili pepper. Add the minced meat (or the pork ribs) and the sausages and stir fry until the meat changes color. Add a glass of red wine and let it evaporate. Add the tomato puree and the water, mix well then add the salt and pepper and let it cook for about a couple of hours at low heat. Stir from time to time and check the sauce, if it’s too dry add a little water.
- Prepare the bechamel. Make a roux melting the butter in a pan with the flour. Transfer the roux in a bowl. Then bring the milk to a boil, pour it on the roux while stirring with a whisk to make the mixture melt. Pour the milk back into the pot, add the grounded nutmeg, salt and bring it again to a boil while stirring. It will start to thicken. Boil for a few minutes, until it becomes thick as a cream. Remove from the stove and cover with a plastic wrap. Lay the wrap onto the surface to avoid drying.
- Prepare the pasta: put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the beaten eggs and start to incorporate the flour with a fork.
- Knead the dough with your hands until it’s smooth. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes, covered with a plastic wrap. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it’s 2mm thick. Cut the pasta into rectangles (10x15cm).
- Cook the pasta: bring the water to a boil, add salt and cook a few sheets of pasta at a time for three minutes. In the meantime prepare a large bowl with icy water. Drain the pasta with a kitchen tong or a fork and put it into the water to stop the cooking process.
- Prepare the saucepan with the tomato sauce, the bowl with the pasta, the white sauce, the mozzarella cheese chopped finely and the parmigiano near the baking tray (40x30cm) where you’re going to cook the lasagne. Start by spreading a spoonful of tomato and white sauce on the base of the tray (if you used pork ribs remove them from the sauce before starting to assemble the dish). Then layer the pasta until the bottom is covered. Add a ladle of tomato sauce, white sauce, sprinkle some parmigiano and a little mozzarella cheese. Keep layering all the ingredients. If you want a crispy lasagna you should add more parmigiano on top and less on the inside.
- Cook the lasagna in the oven at 200°C (about 390°F) for about 45 to 55 minutes. It depends on how crispy you like the top.
Notes
For a quicker version, use store-bought dried pasta. Ensure the sauces are liquid enough to allow the pasta to absorb moisture and cook properly. Let the lasagne rest before serving to allow the layers to set. You can add chili pepper for a spicy kick.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 800
- Fat: 20
- Carbohydrates: 40
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 25
- Cholesterol: 60