Best Brazilian Lasagna Recipes

BRAZILIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Melt butter with flour in saucepan over medium heat. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add milk slowly while stirring mixture with a wooden spoon. Bring sauce to boil and cook 10 minutes. Set white sauce aside until it's time to assemble the lasagne.
• Brown ground beef in a large sauce pan over high heat with vegetable oil, onion and garlic. Add tomatoes and water just enough to cook a thick meat sauce. Set meat sauce aside until it's time to assemble the lasagne.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Bring four quarts of water to a boil. Stir in salt then add noodles four at a time and cook uncovered until tender but firm. Use a large fork or slotted spoon to remove cooked noodles directly to the baking dish.
• Spoon meat sauce into baking dish. Make four layers of noodles, as follows: Put first layer of noodles on top of meat sauce. Then alternate each layer with meat sauce, mozzarella and ham. In one of the layers put only white sauce with ham. Cover lasagne with sauce, grated parmesan and a sprinkle of oregano. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil during baking to avoid cheese from burning.

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA SICILIANA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with the melted butter.
• Place the ricotta, egg, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Assemble the lasagna by evenly spreading 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the sauce with some of the raw pasta sheets, cutting and piecing together the pasta as necessary to fit the dish (see Cook's Note).
• Spread 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta using an offset spatula or your desired utensil. Make sure to get the ricotta to the edges and corners of the dish. Pour 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce onto the ricotta and spread evenly.
• Sprinkle 1 lightly filled (not packed) cup of the mozzarella over the top, followed by a light handful of Grana Padano and roughly one-fifth of the cooked and chopped sausage. Repeat 4 more times, starting with the pasta.
• For the sixth and final layer, begin by laying your pasta, then spread the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the sauce. Cover the dish well with aluminum foil to trap in moisture and help the raw pasta cook.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover the lasagna and cook until the lasagna has crisped and browned to your liking, 15 to 30 minutes more. Serve with extra warmed tomato sauce and garnish with any remaining Grana Padano and parsley.