Best Darn Lasagna. Who has a recipe?

[eveenend]

I'm looking for an A1, highly recommended, lasagna recipe. Over the last few months I've had nothing but mediocre ones and would like to try something great! Any suggestions?

 

[velochic]

Can you be more specific about what you want? My expertise of italian cuisine extends only as far as my palate, but I do know that there are many styles of lasagne. There are some aficionados heren that can help you with specifics.

 

[eveenend]

Thanks for the reply velochic. Most of the them have had spinach, which I've found adds a ton of flavor. I guess I'm looking to experiment a bit (as long as that doesn't include tossing out all the meat).

 

[Alix]

Well, as a jumping off point you could check out this thread.

I suspect there are more in the pasta section that are worth trying out. I am like most folks I think, I found what works for my family and I stick to that basic recipe. If I tried to sneak spinach into our lasagna my youngest would very quietly pick out every molecule.

 

[Robo410]

I make a classic florentine primavera lasagne ...and I use no boil Italian whole wheat sheats ..Gia Russo brand (but there are others) which I like beacuse they are thin and gentle, not huge hunks of dough. You need three sauces
1) your red sauce with meat, but go lite on the meat, and use a mixture lilke meat loaf mix for taste and texture. season the meat while browning with garlic, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, even some basil.
2) you need a bechamel (2 cups worth) melt 2 tblsp butter, add 2 tblbspn flour and wisk together, slowly add 2 cups whole milk and bring to a simmer to thicken wisking all the time to prevent lumps...season with salt, nutmeg, parmesan cheese after thickening and taking off the heat.
3) you need your ricotta layer 15 oz ricotta, 1 cup grated parmesan, 2 eggs, chopped blanched spinach or kale mixed well

you also need sauteed veggies: sliced mushrooms and zucchini are nice with shallots

then layer: red sauce; pasta; ricotta mixture; red sauce; pasta; bechamel + sauteed veggies+ mozzarella; pasta; repeat layers ... you will know how many by depth of pan, size etc...but end with red sauce cheese ... bake 45 min to hour at 350 till bubbly top with parm cheese last 5 min to help brown top...
let rest 10 min before serving

remember to season gently each layer with a bit of salt and pepper and even finish with a gentle sprinkle

this is a lot of work but it is fantastic ... the depth and layers of flavor! easily feeds 6-8. can also be made veggie by not adding meat to the red sauce.

 

[eveenend]

Wow. That sounds absolutely delicious!!

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Robo your recipe sounds really good. I had two questions for you:

Where can I find the thin sheets you are talking about. I don't want to make these at home since I don't have a pasta maker.
I also find ricotta cheese a bit heavy in a lasagne. Do you think cottage cheese would be a good substitute (I use it today in the lasagne I make, my version is just basic and no where close to the one you posted).

Thanks for sharing.

 

[velochic]

It is very late here and my brain is kind of tired so I may not make sense, but I've had "authentic" lasagne florentine (with spinach) and it had a pink sauce... that is a combination of tomato and a cream sauce (probably alfredo, although bechamel is just as likely). I don't have the recipe, but it sounds like you have your base ingredients... go experiement!!! That's the fun of cooking - making it personal. Let us know how it goes!!

 

[Robo410]

Barilla, Gai Russo, and a few others make no boil lasagne sheats. they are smaller and thinner than traditional lasagne and cook up very tender if covered with sauce. Should be readily available in grocery stores.

Cottage cheese is quite different from Ricotta ... so it will be different, possibly looser, runnier. But still delicious.

My recipe began as a vegetarian dish for friends. I added meat to the sauce the next time I made it and liked it that way too. I use kale because many Italians do, I like it, and like working with it, but any dark green leafy veg would work. I'm sure I will make adaptations the next time I do it du eto availabilty of something. that's cooking!

 

[grumblebee]

Kitchenelf posted one of my new favourites awhile back: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f18/asparagus-lasagna-thinking-of-grumblebee-here-19345.html

It's a delicious alternative to the "classic" lasagnas.

 

[Claire]

I have to laugh at this one ... lasagna is one of those dishes that is never-the-same-twice in my kitchen. I've used both ricotta and cottage cheese -- i find the latter easier to use but both delicious. The other day I was making a lasagna for a freind who was laid up after a slip on the ice, and I'd forgotten to buy either. I also "cheated" and used a tomato product that is sweeter than my usual favorite (tomatoes from the garden if I'm lucky, but mostly I like chopped tomatoes in tomato puree). I also happened to come across a block of basil, garlic and olive oil I'd frozen from last summer and tossed that in. the cheeses were asiago, parmesan (yes, the good $$ stuff) and pecorino. Ground beef and turkey, because that was what was in the freezer. One year I threw a three-lasgna party and it was a huge hit. One was traditional made with Italian sausage, one was shellfish, and the third was vegan ... now there's a challenge, a lasagna without cheese. Somehow I pullled it off. I've bought the Barilla "boil-less" lasagna noodles and they do make it easy, although I still prefer the texture of the regular. One thing nice, though, is with the kind you don't need to boil first, if your sauce is a little runny it is GOOD for the end result, all those juices soak right into the pasta.

 

[eveenend]

I've made lasagne 3 times from the same recipe and it hasn't taste the same twice!

 

[Rom]

Sauce:​

1 small diced onion
2 cans of peeled whole tomatoes (then crushed) (not ready made sauce or puree!)
salt to taste
approx 250g chicken mince (can be excluded but doesn't taste as good)
Oil (preferably olive oil)
approx half cup Hot Water (depends how dry the sauce is looking - u don't want it too dry!)

Fry the mince until the water dries on high heat, put a small about of oil in the bottom and add the onion - fry until chicken goes slightly brown.
Add the crushed tomatoes, stir and add hot water to make it a little more liduidy (sp).
Bring to the boil - allow to simmer for approx 50 mins - stirring every now and then.

Lasagne filling:

Approx 12 sheets of pasta ( boiled ) depends on how big your Oven Dish is (i use a big rectangle pyrex dish)
7 Boiled Eggs - Peeled and diced
300-500g Shredded Mozarella (depends how cheesy you like it, i could do the whole pack, my bf likes it heaps less cheesy) lol
4 Thigh fillets roughly cut up (fried in onion and touch of evoo)

Pasta Sheets:
Cook in large amount of water with a drop of oil so they don't stick together for approximately 10mins (I do about 3 at a time or they get stuck BIG TIME)

Making the Lasagne

Put sauce to cover the bottom of dish but not too much

In the Oven dish over the sauce, cover the bottom with pasta sheets approx 3 sheets or what ever it takes (My lasagne has 3 sheets per layer)
Sprinkle generously with Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Chicken pieces and boiled eggs
Put another layer of pasta (3 sheets)
Sprinkle generously with Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Chicken pieces and boiled eggs
Continue this until the lasagne is the size you want - the last layer will be of pasta, on the last layer of pasta cover it with sauce only.

Make sure the lasagne is not dry, if it is you can put some water in there (round the edges - not really recommended, but if ur sauces isn't watery enough what can u do)

Cover with foil

It takes approximately 1 hr to cook on moderate heat or until it is bubbling about
I normally turn mine around half way so one side doens't get mroe colour than the other (no comment on my oven ggrr)