Lasagne is a typical dish of Italian cuisine that, alongside spaghetti bolognese, has gained immense popularity worldwide. In lasagne, besides the Bolognese sauce, another crucial element is the béchamel sauce, which gives it a unique flavor.
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce:
- Ground beef: 800 grams
- White onions: 2 pieces
- Carrots: 2 pieces
- Celery: 100 grams
- Leek: 1 piece
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Canned tomatoes: 1 can
- Fresh tomatoes: 3 pieces
- Dry red wine: 125 milliliters
- Beef broth: 250 milliliters
- Pancetta: 175 grams
- Milk: 150 milliliters
- Oregano: 1.5 teaspoons
- Sweet paprika powder: 2 teaspoons
- Dried Italian herbs: 1 teaspoon
- Sea salt with pepper
Béchamel Sauce:
- Butter (82% fat): 50 grams
- Wheat flour: 50 grams
- Milk: 400 milliliters
- Water: 150 milliliters
- Whole nutmeg: 1/3 piece
- Sea salt with pepper
Additional:
- Lasagne noodles
- Parmesan cheese: 50 grams
Preparation
- Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onions, ground beef, and garlic for about 10 minutes. Once the meat juices evaporate, add celery, carrots, leek, and pancetta, and sauté for another 10 minutes. After this time, add fresh and canned tomatoes, wine, and milk to the meat and simmer for about 1 hour. After an hour, season the sauce with Italian herbs, oregano, salt, and pepper, add beef broth, and simmer for another 2-3 hours.
- Meanwhile, in another saucepan, melt butter and add flour. Cook for about 2 minutes until the ingredients combine well, and the flour cooks.
- Pour milk and water over the flour mixture and cook for about 8-10 minutes over low heat, stirring with a whisk until thickened. When the béchamel thickens and begins to boil, remove it from the heat and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Pour 3-4 tablespoons of béchamel sauce into a baking dish, arrange lasagne noodles on top, pour 2-3 spoonfuls of Bolognese sauce to cover the noodles completely, and repeat the process 2x or until you have one-third of the béchamel sauce left. Pour the remaining béchamel sauce over the top layer of lasagne, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the noodles to soak up the sauces.
- After this time, bake the lasagne in an oven preheated to 160°C, on the top/bottom heat option, for 30 minutes, then increase the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 15 minutes.
