Lasagne

Lasagne 


This is one of my favourite dishes. Many recipes do not use  bechamel sauce but I find that this makes the dish ever so tasty!

Ingredients for the sauce:
2 onions: 1 brown, 1 white
1 glove of garlic
1 leek
2 celery sticks
300 gr. lean pork
100 gr. of chicken
300 gr ground beef
some parsley
extra virgin olive oil
pinch of oregano
1 nutmeg
2 cans tomato pulp
1 can tomato sauce
a sage leaf
rosemary
a bay leaf


Ingredients for the Béchamel Sauce:
1.5 litre of milk
1 nutmeg
salt and pepper
50 gr. butter
200 gm. cornflour


PREPARATION of the sauce:

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic, leek, celery and parsley. Lightly fry them in the oil with the sage, bay leaf and rosemary. Once the vegetables are browned remove the herbs.
2. Finely mince the meat. Add the meat to the vegetables and cook the combined ingredients for a further 20 minutes.
3. Add the tomatos, remaining herbs and a bay leaf and continue cooking the sauce over a medium heat for approximately 2 hours.

PREPARATION of the béchamel sauce:
4. Heat aprox 2 cups of milk and the butter until almost boiling - but don't let it boil!
5. Take off from heat and add the cornflour stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
6. Put back on heat and slowly add the rest of the milk stirring constantly over a medium heat until it begins to thicken. Allow the sauce to thicken for a further 5 mins reducing the heat to low.

FINAL PREPARATION:
7. Cook the lasagne in a saucepan of salted boiling water.( I find that the no cook lasagne is just as good.Barilla makes some excellent no boil lasagne)
8. Cover the base of a greased baking dish with a thin layer of meat sauce, then add a slither of bechamel sauce, and a layer of lasagne. (You can also add some parmesan cheese.) Repeat this process until all the ingredients have been used, finishing off with the bechamel on the top. Cover with aluminum foil
9. Cook the lasagne in a preheated oven for 1/2 hour at 180°.
10. For the last 10 minutes, take off the foil and add grated parmisan cheese and put back in the oven

Some tips.
You can also layer with ricotta and/or creamed spinach for a really decadent dish!

Perfect Bechamel Sauce

All the bechamel recipes I found use plain flour. I have found that by far, the best and lightest bechamel is made using corn flour. (corn starch, for Americans) Another trick is when adding the cornflour to the butter - take the pan with the butter off the heat, add the cornflour, and stir until smooth. The hot butter will melt the cornflour. Add a little bit of the milk until the consistency is liquid THEN put back on the heat ready to add the rest of the milk. Also, be prepared to stir ALL THE TIME! If you get lumps, the sauce is ruined.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons cornflour

4 cups milk (warmed)

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Method

In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted.

Take off the heat, add the cornflour and stir until smooth. I prefer to use a whisk here.

Add about 1/2 cup of the milk and stir vigorously until you have a thickish consistency.

Put back over the heat.

Add the remaining milk bit by bit, stirring all the time.

Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, (or until the sauce thickens) stirring constantly, then remove from heat.

Season with salt and nutmeg

This sauce can be used as a base for cheese sauce, pasta sauces and also as an addition to pie fillings. I always use this recipe as a topping for my lasagne.