How to make homemade lasagna without the hassle?

Make your homemade lasagna a success

Before embarking on the preparation, it is important to remember the fundamentals of this dish, namely the pasta – obviously –, the bolognese, and the béchamel. A winning trio that promises a comforting dish.

Bolognese

In a saucepan, brown chopped garlic, onions, celery and carrots with a little olive oil. Let it brown for a few minutes, then add the minced meat, a little red wine and tomato coulis, before adding salt and pepper.

In this recipe, the water contained in the bolognese will be absorbed by the pasta sheets, allowing them to cook. If the sauce is too thick, it risks being poorly absorbed, which will result in pasta that is half-cooked and a little tough after baking. If, on the other hand, the sauce is too liquid, the lasagna will drip when eaten. You must therefore find the right balance between a liquid and thick bolognese for perfect lasagna.

Béchamel

To prepare béchamel, you start by melting butter in a saucepan, then adding the flour all at once, off the heat. Mix with a whisk, before diluting in the milk. Our little tip is to use cold milk. The temperature contrast between the different ingredients will promote the homogenization of the mixture. Once it is homogeneous, return to low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens without any lumps.

At the end of cooking, you can season your béchamel with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg.

Preparing lasagna

The ideal of course is to use sheets of fresh homemade pasta, or purchased directly from a supermarket. Do you only have dry pasta on hand? Do not panic ! For even softer lasagnas, precook them by immersing them in salted water for 1 minute.

Don't forget to preheat the oven to 180°/gas mark 6, before lightly oiling your gratin dish. We start by laying 2 sheets of lasagna, then we continue by spreading a layer of bolognese and a layer of béchamel. We repeat the operation until the last layer is covered with the béchamel. Finally, put it in the oven and let it cook for about 30 minutes, until the béchamel browns.

Now that you have the technique, why not revisit this legendary recipe according to your desires? For example, you can replace the bolognese with goat cheese and spinach, zucchini and feta, ground veal combined with mushrooms, or even prepare a vegan béchamel using chickpeas. All shots are allowed !