Question about Lasagna?

[CakePoet]

Well even in meatless lasagna you have a red base sauce? Or do you use food colouring and tofu?

 

[di reston]

The classic as a base for any ground meat sauces is a soffritto is equal quantities of onions carrots and celery. Full stop. You can add white wine later on, when the soffritto and the ground meat reach a stage when the meat is browned off, and then you can add the other ingredients.

But the rule is equel quantities of celery, onion and carrots

 

[GotGarlic]

Well even in meatless lasagna you have a red base sauce? Or do you use food colouring and tofu?

Not always. Some people use a béchamel or mornay sauce.

 

[di reston]

The other way of doing a lasagna is with a vegetarian version, with 1kg spinach, 400g ricotta, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, nutmeg to taste, salt and pepper.

A sauce of 30g butter, 100g Emmental and 1 cup of bèchamel.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[PrincessFiona60]

The other way of doing a lasagna is with a vegetarian version, with 1kg spinach, 400g ricotta, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, nutmeg to taste, salt and pepper.

A sauce of 30g butter, 100g Emmental and 1 cup of bèchamel.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

That is the vegetarian Lasagna I know and enjoy.

 

[RPCookin]

The classic as a base for any ground meat sauces is a soffritto is equal quantities of onions carrots and celery. Full stop. You can add white wine later on, when the soffritto and the ground meat reach a stage when the meat is browned off, and then you can add the other ingredients.

But the rule is equel quantities of celery, onion and carrots

That means that a soffritto is slightly different from a typical mire poix in that the latter is usually 2 parts onion to one part of celery and carrot.

 

[Cheryl J]

That is the vegetarian Lasagna I know and enjoy.

That's my preferred lasagna, too. I can only handle so much of that rich red sauce, although once in a while it's ok.

 

[di reston]

Heck, nothing's carved in stone! 'classic' and 'traditional' merely indicate something that there is a format for - if you want! the main thing is, at the end of the day, the ingredients for 'classic' indicate that there is a modus operandi, but then you do what grabs you, that you enjoy!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[Rocklobster]

As per usual, home made noodles can elevate the dish substantially... with or without meat..

 

[GotGarlic]

That's my preferred lasagna, too. I can only handle so much of that rich red sauce, although once in a while it's ok. [emoji2]

That's funny - I think of sauces with lots of butter and cheese as rich and generally prefer red sauce, since it's very nutritious [emoji2]

 

[Andy M.]

As per usual, home made noodles can elevate the dish substantially... with or without meat..

Interesting that you should say that, Roch. I've been making my own pasta more often since I got a pasta machine a couple of Christmases ago.

There is a huge difference in a dish made with freshly made pasta vs. the dry boxed kind.

However, I think lasagna may be an exception. I had been making lasagna with Barilla pasta noodles. This last time, I made the lasagna with freshly made noodles. IMHO, the fresh pasta difference got lost in the shuffle. When I tasted the lasagna, I wasn't immediately struck by what a difference the fresh pasta made.

 

[jennyema]

That's funny - I think of sauces with lots of butter and cheese as rich and generally prefer red sauce, since it's very nutritious [emoji2]

I agree. I think Mornay sauce is much richer than even a Bolgnese sauce....

 

[jennyema]

Interesting that you should say that, Roch. I've been making my own pasta more often since I got a pasta machine a couple of Christmases ago.

There is a huge difference in a dish made with freshly made pasta vs. the dry boxed kind.

However, I think lasagna may be an exception. I had been making lasagna with Barilla pasta noodles. This last time, I made the lasagna with freshly made noodles. IMHO, the fresh pasta difference got lost in the shuffle. When I tasted the lasagna, I wasn't immediately struck by what a difference the fresh pasta made.

I agree, with Andy, too.

Lasagna is one application where I don't think fresh noodles improve the dish at all.

 

[CakePoet]

I had to ask 6 people from this side of a pond what lasagna is, and for us it is Bechamel sauce, pasta and a red tomato based sauce , with or without meat. Some say the pasta sheets should be green and others normal pasta colour but that is how we see lasagna. So when I think of lasagna it has a red sauce and white sauce but no ricotta , like my dad Italian friend used to make.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-lasagna-in-Italy-differ-from-lasagna-in-the-US

 

[GotGarlic]

I had to ask 6 people from this side of a pond what lasagna is, and for us it is Bechamel sauce, pasta and a red tomato based sauce , with or without meat. Some say the pasta sheets should be green and others normal pasta colour but that is how we see lasagna. So when I think of lasagna it has a red sauce and white sauce but no ricotta , like my dad Italian friend used to make.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-lasagna-in-Italy-differ-from-lasagna-in-the-US

You know that Quora is a site where anyone who wants to answers any questions they want, right? So that post is one person's opinion about lasagna, not anything definitive. She has obviously never had my lasagna [emoji38]

 

[tenspeed]

If you want to know how to make the best lasagna, you need to learn from the world's leading authority on lasagna....Garfield!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkWmK-cplV4&t=17s

 

[CakePoet]

Well Oki. In Europe the most common lasagna is the northern Italian one from Naples which is where the Lasagne al forno originated from.

 

[tenspeed]

Well Oki. In Europe the most common lasagna is the northern Italian one from Naples which is where the Lasagne al forno originated from.

I think Naples is considered to be in the south of Italy.

 

[CakePoet]

Sorry... the one we have is the Emilia-Romagna's , which the most common in Europe and that is lasagna al forno and the one you have is aversion the Napels one which is lasagne di carnevale.

How ever European style lasagna uses a much thinner pasta then the American lasagna and fresh pasta is not uncommon here.

I was tired this morning and I grabbed the wrong book, now I am on the right cooking book with Italian food . I grabbed the book from the pile of factually inaccurate ones that was going to the dump.
I am back up with the history book instead.

Dont shot me, we all do mistake and I admit mine.

 

[Rocklobster]

I agree, with Andy, too.

Lasagna is one application where I don't think fresh noodles improve the dish at all.

I guess we'll agree to disagree...I find the fresh pasta absorbs the sauce better thus taking on the flavor..whereas boxed pasta can be a bit slippery and the whole thing tends to separate more...then there is the texture..