Best Classic Lasagne Recipes

CLASSIC LASAGNE

Steps:

• To make the meat sauce, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and cook 750g lean beef mince in two batches for about 10 mins until browned all over.
• Finely chop 4 slices of prosciutto from a 90g pack, then stir through the meat mixture.
• Pour over 800g passata or half our basic tomato sauce recipe and 200ml hot beef stock. Add a little grated nutmeg, then season.
• Bring up to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins until the sauce looks rich.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan/160C/gas 4 and lightly oil an ovenproof dish (about 30 x 20cm).
• Spoon one third of the meat sauce into the dish, then cover with some fresh lasagne sheets from a 300g pack. Drizzle over roughly 130g ready-made or homemade white sauce.
• Repeat until you have 3 layers of pasta. Cover with the remaining 390g white sauce, making sure you can't see any pasta poking through.
• Scatter 125g torn mozzarella over the top.
• Arrange the rest of the prosciutto on top. Bake for 45 mins until the top is bubbling and lightly browned.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNE

Steps:

• For the ragu, melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat until foaming. Add the celery, carrot, onion, porcini, rosemary and some seasoning, and fry for 5 mins.
• Season the meat, add to the dish and cook for 5 mins until browned. Pour in the wine, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on the dish and cook for 1hr 30 mins, removing the lid for the final 30 mins so the sauce can reduce. The meat should be tender but not too broken up, and the sauce should be thick. Taste for seasoning. You can cook it for longer if you have time - the flavour will only improve.
• For the béchamel sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan with the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat and set aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then whisk in the flour and hot milk. Whisk vigorously until smooth, then cook for 10-15 mins until very thick. Remove the bay leaf and season, grating in nutmeg to taste. Stir in the parmesan and egg yolks, then set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Working in batches of three, plunge the pasta sheets into a pan of boiling salted water for 20 secs, just to soften, then immediately put in a bowl of ice-cold water.
• Rub oil onto the base and sides of a large baking dish. Put a layer of pasta on the base, then add a layer of ragu, followed by a layer of béchamel sauce. A good tip, for really defined layers, is to pipe the béchamel sauce over.
• Repeat this process until you have used all the pasta and ragu, and finish with a layer of béchamel sauce on top. Sprinkle the top with a generous layer of parmesan.
• Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins or until bubbling and golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 mins.
• Cut the lasagne into squares and let it sit for another 10 mins before serving - this keeps the layers defined and helps it cool down more quickly.

EASY CLASSIC LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Use kitchen scissors to snip the bacon into small pieces, or use a sharp knife to chop it on a chopping board. Add the bacon to the pan and cook for just a few mins until starting to turn golden. Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until softened.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 min, then tip in the mince and cook, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for about 6 mins until browned all over.
• Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 min, mixing in well with the beef and vegetables. Tip in the chopped tomatoes. Fill each can half full with water to rinse out any tomatoes left in the can, and add to the pan. Add the honey and season to taste. Simmer for 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To assemble the lasagne, ladle a little of the ragu sauce into the bottom of the roasting tin or casserole dish, spreading the sauce all over the base. Place 2 sheets of lasagne on top of the sauce overlapping to make it fit, then repeat with more sauce and another layer of pasta. Repeat with a further 2 layers of sauce and pasta, finishing with a layer of pasta.
• Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and mix with 2 tbsp water to loosen it and make a smooth pourable sauce. Pour this over the top of the pasta, then top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top and bake for 25-30 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve scattered with basil, if you like.

CLASSIC LASAGNE

Steps:

• First make the bechamel sauce. In a saucepan melt butter. Add flour, stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the hot milk, and cook whisking occasionally for 3-5 minutes until thickened and lightly coating the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and set aside. For the meat sauce, in a skillet melt butter. Add onions, carrots, celery and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Then add the smoked ham and cook for another 5 minutes. Add ground beef and pork, and white wine, stir to combine and reduce 1 minute. Add plum tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, bay leaf, oregano, salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x12x13-inch baking dish with butter. Spread a layer of the meat sauce evenly over the bottom of a baking dish. Then add 1 cup of the bechamel sauce-smoothing it over the meat sauce. Add 1/3 of the lasagne sheets. Continue with 3 more layers. Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling.

CLASSIC LASAGNE WITH SHEEP'S MILK GOUDA

Steps:

• Tomato Sauce:.
• In a sauté pan, lightly sauté garlic in olive oil. Add water, tomatoes, paste, sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook on medium to low heat for 1 hour.
• Cheeses:.
• Mix ricotta cheese with parsley, basil and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.
• Make a béchamel sauce mixing in pecorino and gouda; season.
• Cook pasta, chill sheets of pasta then lay on sheet pan. In a casserole dish or lasagna pan, build layers with béchamel sauce, tomato sauce, pasta, ricotta and mozzarella. Repeat until done layering. Bake until hot and slightly crispy; let rest before serving.