Authentic Italian Lasagne Recipes

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
• Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
• Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours.

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pan; add the finely chopped onion, carrot, mushrooms, bacon, crushed garlic and celery (saving a couple of slices of onion, carrot and celery for bechamel sauce). Fry while stirring for 1-2 minutes; add the beef and cook over high heat for further 2 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes and juices, tomato puree, wine, beef stock, 1 bay leaf, and seasoning. Bring to boil; reduce the heat to a simmer cover and cook for 35 minutes.
• meanwhile put the milk into a pan,add the saved slices of onion,carrot,celery,6 peppercorns and other bayleaf,bring slowly to the boil,then remove from the heat cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
• Make the bechamel sauce.
• Strain infused milk into a jug. Melt butter in a saucepan; add the flour and cook over a low heat stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually blend in the milk to prevent lumps. Bring to boil slowly stirring all the time until it thickens; season.
• Brush baking dish with butter. Spoon 1/3 of meat sauce into dish, cover with 4 or so sheets of lasagne, then 1 third of bechamel sauce. Repeat twice more. Sprinkle top with parmesan.
• Bake in a preheated oven 180c for 45 minutes.

BEST ITALIAN LASAGNA EVER!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Boil noodles and drain (you may also use uncooked noodles).
• Sauté garlic, sugar and salt.
• Add sausage and ground beef and brown, breaking into small crumbles.
• Add basil, pepper, tomatoes and paste; simmer 20-30 minutes until sauce thickens.
• Mix together in bowl, ricotta, egg and parsley (add milk if it's too thick).
• Layer sauce to cover bottom of pan, noodles 1/2 of ricotta mixture, 1/4 c of parmesan, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, sauce and parmesan.
• Bake covered for 25 minutes.
• Uncover and bake another 25 minutes.
• Let cool about 10-15 minutes then cut and serve.
• Leftovers may be frozen and then heated in the oven until hot and melty.
• Goes great with crusty garlic toast and a salad.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN LASAGNE

Steps:

• Over medium heat melt 4 tbsp butter in a sauce pan and sauté the onion, celery and the chopped prosciutto for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and let them brown nicely, stirring constantly. Stir in the wine a little at a time until it is completely incorporated.
• At this point add the chicken stock, pomodoro sauce and salt to taste. Cover and cook on a very low flame for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. Add more broth if necessary.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook the pasta as directed for al dente. Drain and set on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil on the top of the pasta so the next layer won't stick.
• Brush a high-sided 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking pan with butter and place it on top of a baking sheet to catch any potential overflow. Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of lasagne, Put a half of the meat sauce, 1/3 of béchamel sauce and 1/3 of the parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Repeat this for the next layer, and top with a layer of lasagne. Cover with the remaining béchamel, Parmigiano-Reggiano and remaining tablespoons of butter.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

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.