I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like lasagna. This legendary dish tempts big and small. And, of course, it’s a big challenge for people who consider themselves cooks, especially for culinary bloggers like myself 🙂
I have wanted to make fresh pasta for a long time. On the one hand, I didn’t have the courage because I was not sure of the final result. On the other hand, kneading, forming and cooking it not only requires experience, but it also takes a whole day, like Italian old ladies, who all day roll some pasta with fancy names and forms (each with its own name and don’t even dare to make a mistake, God forbid). And the result of this slavery labor is finally collected in a small plate that is eaten in a couple of minuts. Well, it’s true that you lick your fingers and ask for more, but you still continue putting on the scales time and labor and licking your fingers 🙂
So, the time went by in the dilemma of fresh pasta stayed (well, I had some other things to do after all :)), until one day at a supermarket I saw a fresh pasta rolling machine. And so I became the proud owner of one.
It wasn’t long before Maya and Jeff said they would like to have lasagna. And here we are – me and my machine go to their home visiting. And the cooking started…
In this short video, you can see a summary of everything.
You can check out the ingredients for this notorious lasagna and how I (we) did it step by step:
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Measure the right amount of flour and sift it into a bowl. Make a hole in the flour and pour the eggs. Stir the eggs, gradually absorbing the flour. Once the dough becomes difficult to mix, pour it on a floured surface and continue kneading until all the flour is absorbed.
A non-sticky hard dough is obtained.
Put the dough in a bowl and let it rest for about 30 minutes to relax. Cover it with fresh storage foil to prevent it from crusting and drying out. In the meantime you can cook the stew for the lasagna.
I used my new pasta machine to roll the lasagna sheets. At first it took me a little while to figure out how it worked out, but after a few sheets I was already acting like a pro. If you made a nice hard dough and the pieces you put in the machine are generously sprinkled with flour, you won't have any problem rolling it. If you do not have a pasta machine, which is very likely, you can roll the dough by hand. The shape of the sheets is not important at all. The sheets may then overlap during the construction of the lasagna. The important thing is not to fold them again after they have been rolled, as they are likely to stick and have to be rolled again.
Cut the carrot into small pieces into cubes not larger than 0.5 cm.
Cut the onion into small pieces as well.
Pour the fat into a large frying pan and add the chopped vegetables. Stir and fry briefly.
Once the vegetables turn slightly golden, add the minced meat. Stir vigorously to make fine crumbs.
After the mince has changed color, add the white wine and stir.
Add the dry spices and mix again.
Now is the time for the tomatoes. Pour in the tomatoes and stir. Let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Keep the sauce relatively rare, because in this recipe, we do not cook the lasagna sheets, but rely on the stew sauce to cook them.
Be careful not to over-salt. If there is salt in your tomatoes, it is best not to put more.
Put the butter in a casserole on medium heat.
After the butter has melted, pour the flour. Stir vigorously because it fries very quickly. Make sure it does not burn. The mixture should have a golden color, which is obtained after a maximum of 1-2 minutes.
Start pouring the milk (it may be cold) into portions - for example first about 200 ml. Once the flour has absorbed the first part of the milk, then pour about the same quantity. Thus no lumps in the sauce are obtained. Finally, pour in all the milk.
Season with salt and pepper.
Let the sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low fire, stirring occasionally, so it doesn't stick on the bottom. Once the sauce has a little thicker consistency, it is ready. Even if you find it quite liquid at this stage, do not worry, after it will thicken further, and it is not good for béchamel sauce to look like a glue.
Before placing the first lasagna sheet, spread a thin layer of béchamel on the bottom. This prevents it from sticking and taking out in a decent square piece when serving.
Then place a layer of lasagna sheets.
Spread a layer of the stew on the sheet.
Pour béchamel sauce over the stew with a spoon. It is no problem if there are empty spaces. When baking it will distribute wonderfully.
Sprinkle with grated cheese on béchamel. You can use mozzarella, parmesan, or any other cheese you like.
Continue to arrange the layers of lasagna as shown above until the products are finished. The important thing is to cover the top sheet with béchamel and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 200 degrees until the surface of the lasagna gets golden. Serve the lasagna while still warm. Bon appetit!
If I can do it, so can you!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients
Directions
Measure the right amount of flour and sift it into a bowl. Make a hole in the flour and pour the eggs. Stir the eggs, gradually absorbing the flour. Once the dough becomes difficult to mix, pour it on a floured surface and continue kneading until all the flour is absorbed.
A non-sticky hard dough is obtained.
Put the dough in a bowl and let it rest for about 30 minutes to relax. Cover it with fresh storage foil to prevent it from crusting and drying out. In the meantime you can cook the stew for the lasagna.
I used my new pasta machine to roll the lasagna sheets. At first it took me a little while to figure out how it worked out, but after a few sheets I was already acting like a pro. If you made a nice hard dough and the pieces you put in the machine are generously sprinkled with flour, you won't have any problem rolling it. If you do not have a pasta machine, which is very likely, you can roll the dough by hand. The shape of the sheets is not important at all. The sheets may then overlap during the construction of the lasagna. The important thing is not to fold them again after they have been rolled, as they are likely to stick and have to be rolled again.
Cut the carrot into small pieces into cubes not larger than 0.5 cm.
Cut the onion into small pieces as well.
Pour the fat into a large frying pan and add the chopped vegetables. Stir and fry briefly.
Once the vegetables turn slightly golden, add the minced meat. Stir vigorously to make fine crumbs.
After the mince has changed color, add the white wine and stir.
Add the dry spices and mix again.
Now is the time for the tomatoes. Pour in the tomatoes and stir. Let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Keep the sauce relatively rare, because in this recipe, we do not cook the lasagna sheets, but rely on the stew sauce to cook them.
Be careful not to over-salt. If there is salt in your tomatoes, it is best not to put more.
Put the butter in a casserole on medium heat.
After the butter has melted, pour the flour. Stir vigorously because it fries very quickly. Make sure it does not burn. The mixture should have a golden color, which is obtained after a maximum of 1-2 minutes.
Start pouring the milk (it may be cold) into portions - for example first about 200 ml. Once the flour has absorbed the first part of the milk, then pour about the same quantity. Thus no lumps in the sauce are obtained. Finally, pour in all the milk.
Season with salt and pepper.
Let the sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low fire, stirring occasionally, so it doesn't stick on the bottom. Once the sauce has a little thicker consistency, it is ready. Even if you find it quite liquid at this stage, do not worry, after it will thicken further, and it is not good for béchamel sauce to look like a glue.
Before placing the first lasagna sheet, spread a thin layer of béchamel on the bottom. This prevents it from sticking and taking out in a decent square piece when serving.
Then place a layer of lasagna sheets.
Spread a layer of the stew on the sheet.
Pour béchamel sauce over the stew with a spoon. It is no problem if there are empty spaces. When baking it will distribute wonderfully.
Sprinkle with grated cheese on béchamel. You can use mozzarella, parmesan, or any other cheese you like.
Continue to arrange the layers of lasagna as shown above until the products are finished. The important thing is to cover the top sheet with béchamel and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 200 degrees until the surface of the lasagna gets golden. Serve the lasagna while still warm. Bon appetit!