Lasagna
from Italian Traditional Food

Lasagna, a meal in itself

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Lasagna, if well made, can be a very delicious dish. It can be served as a snack, first course or main meal. I like to make my own because the ones you buy simply do not have any flavour.

Although, below I have given you details of how to make the meat sauce you could very easily just use the pasta sauce recipe I outlined elsewhere on this site. Most lasagna recipes call for a meat sauce but my family have always preferred it without any meat, which is why I tend to use my pasta sauce recipe which comes without meat.

I also do not bother to make my own lasagna pasta as it is very time consuming and the ones you buy from supermarkets or Italian delicatessens are just as good. You can buy the yellow or green lasagna pasta sheets. The green one has spinach in but I prefer the yellow.

Serves: 4-6

Cooking Time: 30 -40 minutes

Oven Setting: Preheat to 190C or Gas Mark 5

Ingredients:

1/2 lb dried lasagna pasta (comes in small sheet size from supermarkets)
2oz Parmesan cheese (grated)

Ingredients for meat sauce:

1 lb raw minced beef
2 small onions (finely chopped)
2 oz butter, or oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons tomato puree
2 wineglasses of red wine
4 wineglasses of stock (beef, chicken or vegetable as preferred)
salt and pepper (to taste)

Ingredients for white sauce:

2 oz butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 pint milk
salt and pepper (to Taste)

Method:

1. First prepare the meat sauce.

2. Lightly brown onion in the butter or oil.

3. Add minced beef and continue to fry, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes.

4. Blend in the flour, tomato puree, wine and stock.

5. Season, cover and bring to the boil.

6. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender and the sauce thick.

7. Add more stock, if necessary, during the cooking.

8. Now prepare the lasagna pasta sheets.

9. Simmer the lasagna pasta sheets in a large pan of salted boiling water. Only a few sheets at a time to avoid the sheets sticking together.

11. Prepare the white sauce.

12. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.

13. Remove from heat and stir in the flour.

14. Blend in half the milk, then stir in the rest.

15. Stir this over a moderate heat until boiling, then boil gently for 1-2 minutes.

16. Season to taste.

17. Assemble the lasagna.

18. Well butter an ovenproof dish.

19. Spoon a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the dish.

20. Arrange some lasagna pasta sheets over the sauce to cover completely.

21. Continue with a layer of meat sauce, then white sauce, then lasagna pasta sheets.

22. Repeat this until the dish is full and finish with the white sauce.

23. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese thickly over the top.

24. Brown in a preset oven at 190C or Gas Mark 5, for about 30-40 minutes.

25. It is cooked when the cheese has browned and the lasagna pasta has browned around the edges of the dish.

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