Best French Lasagna Mardi Soir Recipes

FRENCH-STYLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir until beef is no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; cook for 1 minute. Pour in milk and heavy cream. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
• Spread 1/4 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover with 3 lasagna noodles. Spoon 1/3 of the beef mixture over the noodles. Spread 1/4 of the tomato sauce and 1/3 of the white sauce over the beef mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, and garlic powder on top. Cover with 1/3 of the Swiss cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat layers twice, starting with noodles and ending with cheeses.
• Bake lasagna in the preheated oven until top is deeply browned, 30 to 45 minutes.

FRENCH LASAGNE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine milk and garlic, and place over high heat until almost at boiling point. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Discard garlic, and drizzle eggs into milk while whisking vigorously. Set aside.
• Place bottoms of croissants, cut side up, into a baking dish large enough to hold them snugly in a single layer. (A 10 x 13-inch dish works well.) On each croissant half, arrange a slice of ham and a slice of mozzarella. Top with remaining croissant halves, cut side down.
• Sprinkle about 2/3 of cheddar on croissants, and pour milk mixture over everything. Press croissants down with a fork so they are almost covered by milk, repeating once or twice until tops absorb some of liquid. Set aside for 20 minutes; meanwhile, heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Sprinkle remaining cheddar over croissants. Bake until puffy, golden and set, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

FRENCH STYLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add eggplant, squash, zucchini, onions and bell pepper; sauté until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, herbes de Provence and salt. Heat to boiling. Cook until thickened.
• Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package until almost al dente. Drain.
• Into 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, spoon one-fourth of the vegetable mixture. Add layer of lasagna noodles; top with another one-fourth of vegetable mixture. Add sliced mozzarella, another layer of noodles and half of remaining vegetable mixture. Dollop crème fraîche over top. Add another layer of noodles and remaining vegetable mixture. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cover dish with foil.
• Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown and bubbly.

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.

EMERIL'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, Provolone, Mozzarella, Romano, egg, milk, basil and garlic. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. To assemble, spread 2 1/2 cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of a deep dish lasagna pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the grated cheese over the sauce. Cover the cheese with 1/4 of the dried noodles. Spread a 1/4 of the cheese filling evenly over the noodles. Repeat the above process with the remaining ingredients, toping the lasagna with the remaining sauce. Place in the oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving. Slice and serve.
• In a large nonreactive saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. In a mixing bowl, combine the meat. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. When the oil is hot, add the meat and brown for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the tomato paste with the stock and add to the tomatoes. Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, basil and red pepper. Mix well. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add more liquid if needed. During the last 30 minutes or cooking, reseason with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

FRENCH LASAGNA MARDI SOIR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• For the Bechamel: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, a few gratings of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to make a smooth paste. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Do not allow the flour mixture to brown. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring, until thick and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• For the Meat Sauce: Cook the meat and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to break up the meat into small pieces, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain off all of the fat from the pan. Add the garlic, herbes de Provence and the red pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the white wine. Bring to a boil and boil until nearly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pureed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook at an active simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Finishing the Dish: Spread 1/2 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 8" square baking dish (you won't cover the entire surface) Top with 2 sheets of lasagna noodles, side by side. Top with 1/3 of the remaining meat sauce (spreading to cover the noodles as best you can) and then 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Top with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat the layers (starting with the noodles) twice.
• Bake, uncovered, until the lasagna is bubbly and the top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes, covering loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes if the top browns too much. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into four pieces to serve.