I use out-of-the-box dried (crinkly) lasagne sheets, no precooking.
Make a bolognaise (mmm, puly , I must try chicken livers, mine usually includes beef or ostrich, ham and anchovies(in olive oil with garlic right at start).
Make bechamel. Add cheese to bechamel (usually cheddar/mozzarella/parmiggiano mix)
Layer bechamel,pasta, bolognaise,bechamel,pasta, bolognaise…end with bechamel.
Top with grated cheese & paprika.
Bake
I use the same tomato sauce theory for lasagne as I do for spaghetti and pizza: I’m a simple man.
My theory is that the stronger the flavors in the sauce (within limits), the better the result.
To that end, my tomato sauce has a helluva lot of herbs in it, plenty of black pepper and garlic, lots of chopped onions, and a generous splash of wine.
Num.
Daniel
Make the noodles fresh. For Og’s sake, if you’re going to the trouble of making a roux, you’ve got the time to mix eggs and flour, knead it a few times, roll it out, and cut it. Really, it’s about the same amount of trouble as boiling a giant pot of water, adding dried noodles, making sure they’re cooked, draining the water, and cooling the noodles so you can handle them.
You will be amazed at the difference. Trust me, it is worth it.
and rockle
Yes. Yes, I would.
It may have to wait until the chocolate lasagna(!) is tried, though.
Any other takers? If not, Quercus, please feel free to email me and I will gladly send it along. You won’t be sorry, I promise.
You have to ask if we want another new recipe?? Of course there are more takers! Recipe please!!
OK … but first some words of warning. This is RICH, really rich, but absolutely yum and I promise you’ll like it. It is more of a “side” than an entree, because it’s a total heart attack in a dish – whenever there is a family party, they ask me to make this, and it gets the place of honor right next to my grandmother’s turkey “BBQ” that isn’t BBQ. But anyway, here goes. Enjoy!
Hearty Vegetable Lasagna
9 lasagna noodles (cooked)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 10-oz. package chopped spinach, drained and water squeezed out
1 cup shredded carrots
1 medium to large chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (26 ounce) jars pasta sauce
1 tablespoon dried basil
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
2 15-oz. or one 32-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water, and drain.
In a large saucepan, cook and stir onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini and mushrooms in oil. Stir in pasta sauce and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add spinach and red pepper flakes, and simmer 15 minutes.
Mix together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and eggs.
Spread 1 cup tomato sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer 1/2 each, lasagna noodles, ricotta mix, sauce, and Parmesan cheese.
Repeat layering, and top with remaining cup mozzarella cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
This lasagna does not fall apart (make sure you let it cool a bit before cutting, though). It’s also very versatile. You can use any pasta sauce you want, you can add ground beef or sausage, or any mix of vegetables that appeals. I’ve used peas and corn before, and you could certainly use broccoli, peppers, asparagus, etc.
If you will be using a jarred sauce, I suggest using one with wine in it, or adding wine and letting it simmer for a little while longer until the liquid is reduced. I had a homemade Turkey Bolognese sauce I used for awhile that was very good as well.
Wow, rockle, the Pierogie casserole looks great! Have you ever tried to make it with a substitution for the Velveeta? My SO is phobic about Velveeta and won’t let me have it in the house. Would another meltable cheese do?
Fro those of you who need more, here’s the last lasagna thread which contains links to previous ones. In that thread FisherQueen advised me to use tofu in a veggie lasagne. It worked really well, and I’m not a veggie fan. Thanks!
Ooo, here’s another lasagne thread I missed.
Wolfgang Puck’s Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna (scroll down for the recipe proper)
This recipe is sooooo good. Nice pumpkin/cheesy flavor with hints of savory spice.
My notes:
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I bought the typical one pound box of the ridged/curly edged lasagna, and found that I had about half the box left over at the end. I probably should have suspected as much, when I read that you should be able to lay all of your noodles out on a greased baking sheet without any overlap (uh, no). Maybe the boxes of the flat lasagna noodles also have thicker (and thus fewer) noodles in a pound, I’m not sure. The common curly-edged ones typically take up one-third of a 9x13" pan, laid lengthwise, so you’ll need 3 per layer, and the recipe calls for 3 layers of pasta, so 9 noodles assuming none extra for “breakage”/“rippage”.
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When you get to the breadcrumb/cheese topping, blend the two together first for better coverage and adherence. I didn’t, and had some patches of “dry” breadcrumbs that would fall off the lasagna.
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The way the ingredients list was formatted could be confusing. The bechamel sauce covers the first six ingredients after the lasagna noodles: butter, all-purpose flour, whole milk; fresh creamy goat cheese, freshly grated Parmesan cheese or mascarpone; salt, nutmeg. The pumpkin and goat cheese filling is the remainder of the ingredients, barring the last two (for the breadcrumb/cheese topping).
Yes, I’m sure it would. I just use Velveeta because that is what my grandmother uses, but as long as the cheese will melt smooth and not get “gross” when it is baked, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. American comes to mind, or a mix of other melty cheeses.
Yeah, rockle, that looks amazing. Heart-attack-inducing indeed (and in no way lo-carb!), but great! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I know this is unpopular on these boards, but I’m a firm beleiver in using cottage over ricotta cheese.
Ricotta always seems to dominate the taste and has that mushy texture. Cottage leads to a more balanced product.
And I’ve tried not cooking the noodles first and it doesn’t work right for me. Plus the precooking isn’t very hard.
I always use italian sausage and the most important part is to use fresh spices. In summer, I got to my garden and pick fresh oregano and basil, if winter, I hit the local produce mart. Garlic is never in powdered or prechopped form.
The other thing I do different is I don’t put cheese on top. My layers go noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozerella, sauce. Repeat. This way, the cheese doesn’t get all hard. (I know some people like that, but I don’t)
I would be willing to give this a whirl. Don’t laugh, but is a pasta machine necessary? If it is, maybe I’ll pick one up on amazon.com and try making my own pasta next weekend.
No, a pasta machine is not necessary. It does make it a little easier and gives more consistant results, if you are worried about how it works, but you can do it just fine with a clean, floured counter and a large rolling pin.
Good luck.
Stranger
like Stranger said, a machine makes lasagne a little easier, but isn’t necessary, if you have a rolling pin and aren’t afraid it use it. And don’t believe anyone who says you NEED special semolina flour. I use plain white all-purpose flour and pasta comes out fine.
But if you get hooked on fresh pasta and want linguini, a machine makes thin noodles a lot easier. (Fresh linguini is darn good, too, you know.)
Pasta machines are heavy though, so make sure shipping charges don’t eat up too much of the Amazon price advantage.
I think I’ve decided on a VillaWare Imperia Pasta Machine. Williams-Sonoma has one for fifty bucks. It isn’t the cheapest, but it has a guide tray, which seems like an accessory that would really come in handy. US Appliance has one for forty bucks, sans guide tray, and plus S&H. Amazon.com has one for forty bucks, and it ships for free. It comes with cutters for spaghetti and fettuccine, but says nothing about lasagna noodles. Since they’re flat and wide, can’t I just roll them through the machine, and use a pizza roller to cut the noodles to the appropriate length, or will I need a special lasagna noodle cutter?
Now that I’m looking at the image on amazon.com, I see that the clamp looks a little on the wimpy side. Should I consider another brand? I really want to keep this purchase under eighty dollars.
UrbanChic, I started a thread a while back on homemade pasta (ravioli) and got a lot of good advice on making homemade pasta. It’s here if you want to take a look
Absolutely! Semolina is definitely not a requirement for lasagna pasta. (I use plain white all-purpose flour.) I also never use a pasta machine either, just a rolling pin (or, in one case when the host did not have one, an empty wine bottle.) Flour. Eggs. Adjust by adding flour or eggs until the dough comes together and feels like, well, dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap or put in a bowl and cover and let rest for 1 hour. Divide into reasonable portions, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness, cut, and voila, lasagna pasta dough.
I make a yummy veggie lasagna that’s really simple (and it doesn’t fall apart when you serve it). You slice zucchini and summer squash thin (1/4" or less) (I like the really little ones) and whatever other veggies you want (whole tomatoes are good) and simmer in pasta sauce until they’re tender. Layer the sauce with lasagna noodles and the standard ricotta/parmesan/egg mixture. I’m not sure where the recipe is, but if i can find it, I’ll give you all the details. It’s really good and very easy.
The Polish Lasagna sounds fabulous (but I’d need a long nap if I ate it). I love pierogis, and it sounds like pierogis but much easier to make.
Yes. And I usually need a long nap after I make it. It’s wonderful but labor-intensive. But worth it.