Best Bolognese Vegetable Lasagna With White Ricotta Bechamel Sauce Recipes

VEGETABLE LASAGNA WITH A THICK BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F In a medium bowl, mix cheese layer ingredients together well and set aside.
• VEGETABLES: In a large skillet, heat the onion and garlic over medium heat. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Saute until the water has evaporated from the zucchini. Add sliced tomatoes, tomato paste and seasonings. Cook to reduce and thicken. Set aside.
• BECHAMEL: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour slowly until the roux, whisk or stir for about 1-2 minutes.
• Add the milk slowly while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the béchamel comes to a medium thickness (soft paste texture) Remove from heat and rest 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, to cool slightly. While whisking, slowly add the eggs a little at a time until incorporated well.
• ASSEMBLY: To a 9x13 pan, Spread a thin layer of Bechamel sauce into the bottom of the lasagna pan. Place a layer of cooked lasagna sheets, cut to fit into the pan if necessary. Add a thin layer of cheese mixture, then some spinach, followed with a vegetable layer. Repeat.
• Continue layering in this manner until ingredients are used up. Pour the remaining Bechamel sauce over top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

BEST VEGETARIAN LASAGNA BOLOGNESE (WITH SPINACH-RICOTTA & BéCHAMEL)

Steps:

• Use this recipe to prepare the vegan bolognese sauce. I recommend making it one day ahead, as it needs to cook low and slow for 3.5 hours. Plus, the flavors intensify in the fridge.
• For fresh spinach, heat a pan on low heat, add in a splash of olive oil, then wilt the spinach completely. Allow it to cool, then, with your hands, squeeze out the excess moisture. For frozen spinach, defrost it, then, with your hands, squeeze out the excess moisture.
• In a bowl, mix together the wilted spinach, ricotta cheese, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, an egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Set the bowl aside.
• In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter completely, then whisk in the flour. Continue whisking vigorously for one minute to cook the flour. Add in a small splash of pre-warmed milk, and whisk. Continue whisking in the warm milk, a little at a time. If any lumps form, just keep whisking. The sauce should become thick. Bring the sauce to a low boil, and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the mozzarella cheese ans salt, allowing it to melt. Turn off the stove.
• First, preheat the oven to 395°F/200°C. Then, in your lasagna baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of bolognese sauce to the bottom of the pan, and spread it across to make a thin layer. Add a layer of pasta sheets. Smooth an even layer of the spinach-ricotta mixture atop the pasta sheets, about 1 to 1.5 cups. Then, smooth over an even layer of the bolognese sauce, about 1 to 1.5 cups. Sprinkle on an even layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Starting again with the lasagna sheets, repeat this pattern until the pan is almost full to the top, and you can barely fit another layer. After the last layer of pasta sheets go on, spread on another layer of bolognese sauce. Quickly re-whisk the béchamel sauce and pour it over the top of the bolognese sauce. Sprinkle on a bit more mozzarella.
• Cover the lasagna with a sheet of foil to retain moisture, but ensure the foil is not touching the béchamel sauce. Bake the lasagna on the middle rack of your oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the pasta sheets are just cooked through. Remove the foil, turn your oven onto the broil setting (or the highest heat), and move the lasagna to the top rack. With a very watchful eye, allow the lasagna to bubble up and become golden-brown - with some darker brown spots too! If necessary, carefully turn the dish around to achieve an even broil across the top. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven, recover with foil (but ensure it's not touching the top layer), and allow it to cool and set for about 20-30 minutes before digging in!
• If desired, use a spoon to smooth over a drizzle of truffle oil and garnish with fresh parsley!

BEST LASAGNA WITH RICOTTA BECHAMEL

Steps:

• Prepare meat sauce: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground sirloin and sausage; cook and stir until browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Add olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add onion and salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper; stir until well combined. Stir in cooked meat and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in basil and parsley.
• While sauce is simmering prepare bechamel: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and whisk in ricotta until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes.
• At the same time, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook 12 lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spoon 1/2 cup meat sauce into the bottom of the prepared dish. Place 4 noodles across sauce. Spoon 1/3 of remaining meat sauce over noodles. Add 1/2 of the bechamel sauce, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers once more. Top with remaining 4 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with additional fresh basil leaves.

BECHAMEL SAUCE FOR LASAGNA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy-bottom, medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes; do not let roux brown.
• Whisking constantly, add about 2 tablespoons hot milk to saucepan.
• Pour half of the remaining hot milk into the saucepan in small increments, whisking the mixture constantly, until a smooth paste forms.
• Whisk remaining milk into pan; add nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape bottom and sides, until sauce is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes; if any lumps form, stir sauce rapidly with a whisk. Season with pepper; remove from heat. Let sauce stand until lukewarm, about 30 minutes, before assembling lasagna.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Set aside.
• While the water comes to a boil, prepare the ricotta filling: In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1/3 cup parsley, cream, beaten egg and nutmeg. Fold in 2 cups mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Once the water comes to a boil, season it generously with salt, then cook the noodles just until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. (The noodles shouldn't be fully cooked so they hold up after baking.) Transfer the cooked noodles to a colander and rinse immediately under cold water. Drizzle with oil immediately and toss to coat to prevent sticking.
• Assemble the lasagna: Spoon about 1 cup sauce into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Top with one layer of lasagna noodles, trimming the noodles as needed. (They can overlap slightly, but should be trimmed if the overlap is significant.) Dollop a heaping 3/4 cup ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, and spread in an even layer. Pour 1 cup sauce on top, and spread in an even layer. Repeat with 3 more layers of noodles, ricotta and sauce. Top with one final layer of noodles, then a final layer of sauce. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining mozzarella, then the Parmesan.
• Cover the lasagna tightly with aluminum foil and bake until warmed through and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil on the top rack until browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, then let cool about 10 minutes before serving.