Growing up, Lasagna never did anything for me. It was just another variation of pasta with meat and cheese.
I am quite certain that the model for Taco Bell started with Lasagna.
Baked Ziti, Manicotti, Stuffed shells, Cannelloni, Lasagna, they are different combinations of the same ingredients, just like Taco Bell. They’re all a variation of spaghetti and meatballs, so why not just have spaghetti and meatballs?
Until, you have Lasagna the way it is supposed to be prepared. Even then, restaurants and people can really screw it up. I’ve been screwing it up for years, until….
This is the best one I’ve ever made, and I’ll tell you that the next time it will be better because I’ll use more Béchamel and Bolognese than in the video.
The recipe below accounts for more.
Lasagna
About a pound of pasta dough
1 quart Béchamel
2+ quarts Bolognese sauce
1 pound of fresh mozzarella sliced
4 OZ Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 cup of marinara sauce
Pasta Dough
1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
1 ½ cups fine ground semolina flour
4 – 5 eggs
2 TBS olive oil
2 TSP salt
Béchamel
4 TBS unsalted butter
4 TBS All Purpose Flour
1 shallot sliced
3 cloves garlic crushed
4 cups milk
Salt to taste
½ TSP Thyme
½ TSP Tarragon
½ TSP Marjoram
1 bay leaf
¼ TSP Nutmeg – or a few gratings
For the pasta dough
I followed a recipe that I had for many years, but I now think that I should adapt to using weight measurements and hydration percentages. My dough was a bit dry. It still worked, but I think if I used 50% hydration it would have been better.
You can use a food processor, which actually makes this a lot easier, but I did it by hand.
Food Processor:
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the food processor.
Turn the food processor on
Pour the eggs and olive oil into the food processor and process until a dough ball amasses.
If it’s too dry, you can add a tiny bit of water and the food processor will fix it for you
By Hand:
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour them into a work surface
Make a well in the middle
Beat the eggs and olive oil
Pour the eggs and olive oil into the well
Use a fork to start blending the wet and dry from the center out
Roll out the lasagna sheets
When you have a pliable dough, knead it for about 5 minutes, cover with plastic and let it rest until you are going to make your pasta.
I rolled my lasagna sheets starting with the thickest setting (1), and finalized with a (4), though I could have gone to a (5)
Béchamel:
Melt the butter in a stock pot or pan that can hold 4 cups of milk. I like to use a high walled pot to prevent splashing.
Add the garlic and shallot and sauté until translucent
Start whisking in the milk one cup at a time
Add the herbs and nutmeg
Keep stirring and when it starts to bubble and almost boil, you will see it thicken. Turn off the flame and let it cool
After it has set for about an hour, strain it through a regular mesh strainer. It does not need to be fine mesh, we just want to strain out the solids.
Lasagna:
Add 6 quarts of water to a large stock pot and bring it to a boil
Dip the lasagna sheets for about 30 seconds in the boiling water one at a time. Remove after 30 seconds and set aside to drain. Keep them separated so they don’t stick together.
Butter the casserole dish. Spread a thin even coating of béchamel into the bottom of the casserole.
Place your first layer of pasta on the bottom of the casserole.
Spread about ½ - ¾ cup of Béchamel onto the pasta – this is not exact, you want about an eighth of an inch layer
Sprinkle liberally with Parmigiano Reggiano
Spread about a cup, cup and a half of the Bolognese sauce on top of the Béchamel – again not exact, but you want about a quarter of an inch of Bolognese sauce.
Repeat these layers until you have no more pasta, or you run out of béchamel or Bolognese.
Cover the casserole and bake at 350 for an hour.
Remove from the oven, top with more Bolognese, the marinara, and the fresh mozzarella.
Bake uncovered until the mozzarella melts and starts to take a bit of color.
Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 2 hours.
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