Lasagna Al Forno Recipes

JAMIE'S CLASSIC FAMILY LASAGNE

Steps:

• Strip and finely chop the rosemary leaves and finely chop the bacon.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole pan on a high heat. Once hot, add the rosemary and bacon and fry for 2 minutes, or until the bacon starts to crisp up, stirring regularly.
• Add all the minced meat, using a wooden spoon to break it up as you go. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for at least 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
• Place the coarse grater attachment in your food processor (or you could use a box grater instead) and grate the Cheddar, then tip into a bowl.
• Replace the grater with the regular blade. Trim and halve the carrots, then add to the processor and blitz to roughly the same size as the mince. Peel and halve the onions, add them to the carrot and blitz again.
• Tip into the pan with the mince while you get on with blitzing and adding the celery. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften, stirring regularly.
• Next, add the tomato purée and plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Fill each of the tins with water and tip into the pan. Give everything a good stir and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer around 2 hours, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
• While that ticks away, make your white sauce. Trim, wash and finely slice the leeks, then add to a pan along with 2 tablespoons of oil and the bay leaves. Stir well and season with a tiny pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until sweet and softened, adding splashes of water, if needed.
• Add the flour and stir well to coat, then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously. Turn the heat up to medium, bring to the boil, then reduce to low and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly.
• Carefully transfer the sauce to the food processor and blitz until smooth and silky. Add half the grated cheese and finely grate over half the nutmeg and mix well. Season to taste.
• Once the ragù is ready, preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
• Season the ragù to taste, then transfer half into freezer bags, portioning up as appropriate for your family. Allow to cool to room temperature, then pop in the freezer for another day. It's a good idea to freeze them flat so that you can reheat them quickly and easily. It's also a good idea to label and date them to avoid a game of freezer roulette in a few weeks' time!
• To build your lasagne, spoon a quarter of the ragù into a large deep ovenproof dish (roughly 25cm by 30cm) and spread it out evenly.
• Spoon over a quarter of the white sauce, then snap over some lasagne sheets, making sure they completely cover the sauce in one layer. Repeat this 3 times, finishing with a layer of white sauce.
• Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake the lasagne in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
• Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Delicious served with a fresh green salad.

LASAGNE AL FORNO

Steps:

• In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion and fry for about 10 minutes.
• While the onion is cooking, chop the pancetta. The best way to do this is to roll it up, cut lengthwise then across.
• Once onion is softened, add the pancetta and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Place the pancetta and onion in a 6 quart dutch oven, add another tablespoon of oil to the sauté pan and return to heat.
• Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Transfer to the dutch oven, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and return to heat.
• Add the ground pork and brown.
• Once pork has browned, add it to the dutch oven.
• Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C, Gas Mark 1).
• Place dutch oven on burner and stir ingredients together. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, red wine, salt, pepper, and about ¼ nutmeg, grated. Stir all ingredients together and bring to a simmer.
• While bringing mixture to a simmer, tear half of the basil leaves from the stem, tear or chop the leaves and add them to the pot. As soon as the mixture is simmering, place in preheated oven. You do not need to cover the mixture.
• Here the recipe says to let simmer for 3 hours before giving a stir, I stirred every 45 minutes.
• When liquid has reduced to a concentrated sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the remainder of the basil.
• About 20-30 minutes before the ragú bolognese is due to come out of the oven, begin the bechamel sauce.
• Place the milk, butter, flour, salt and pepper, and garlic in a large saucepan. Heat oven medium-low heat and whisk until simmering and thickened. Reduce heat as low as possible and simmer for 10 minutes more.
• Sieve the sauce into a large bowl and add the cream. Adjust seasoning and add another quarter of nutmeg.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (Gas mark 4, 180°C).
• Now for the assembly. Organize your materials in the order in which you will use them, with the baking dish on a cookie sheet (to catch spillage) in the middle.
• Spread a thin layer of the ragú bolognese on the bottom of the pan. Cover with ¼ of the bechamel sauce, diced mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Add a layer of lasagna noodles (They don't need to be cooked, the large amount of sauce cooks the noodles). Repeat in this manner, finishing off with a top layer of cream sauce and a coating of Parmesan cheese.
• Place in oven (be sure to keep the baking sheet underneath!) and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

LASAGNE AL FORNO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to160C/325F/Gas 3.
• For the ragu, heat a large frying pan until hot and add the oil. Cook the mince until browned all over. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate. Add the onion, celery (if using) and garlic to the pan and cook until softened. Return the meat to the pan and stir in the flour. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the redcurrant jelly (or sugar), tomato purée and thyme, then stir well.
• Stir in the canned tomatoes. Bring to the boil again, cover and simmer in the oven for 1-½ hours, or until the beef is tender.
• For the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook over the heat for one minute. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, whisking until thickened. Add the Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese and season well with salt and pepper.
• For the lasagne, put one third of the meat sauce in the base of a 2.3 litre/4 pint shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon one third of the white sauce on top. Arrange one layer of lasagne sheets on top. Season. Spoon half of the remaining meat sauce on top and then half of the white sauce. Put another layer of lasagne sheets on top, then the remaining meat sauce and remaining white sauce. Sprinkle over the cheddar cheese.
• Leave for six hours before cooking so that the pasta can start to soften.
• Preheat the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Cook in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes- or until golden brown on top, bubbling around the edges and the pasta is soft.

LASAGNE AL FORNO (ITALIAN BEEF LASAGNA)

Steps:

• Finely chop the carrot, onion and celery and saute the vegetables gently in a large frying pan with the olive oil. Once the vegetables are soft add the beef and pork mince and cook until browned.
• If there is a lot of excess fat in the pan, spoon some out. Add the red wine and reduce by half.
• Once the wine has reduced, add the sieved tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, 4 cups of beef stock (1 litre) and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Stir everything together and leave to simmer on a low heat for 2.5-3 hours uncovered. Add the rest of the beef stock half way through.
• Add the butter to a saucepan and cook until melted and bubbling.
• Add the flour to the melted butter and stir to form a paste. Let the flour cook for 1 minute.
• Slowly whisk half of the milk into the butter and flour constantly whisking to avoid any lumps. Once it has started to thicken add the rest of the milk, nutmeg, parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Continue to heat the sauce whilst stirring until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Take off the heat and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
• To assemble the lasagne, spoon a small amount of ragu on the very bottom of the baking dish. Top with and even layer of lasagna pasta sheets (cut the pasta sheets to fit your baking dish).
• Add a few more spoons of ragu so the pasta is completely covered followed by 2 ladels of white sauce.
• Repeat the layers of pasta, ragu and bechamel sauce until everything is used up making sure to keep enough of bechamel sauce for the very top layer (you should have 4-5 layers of pasta).
• Cover the top layer of the lasagne with torn mozzarella and then bake in the oven for 45minutes or until bubbling and golden.
• Let it cool slightly for 5-10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNE VERDI AL FORNO

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Steam the spinach in a steamer or over boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess moisture and process in a food processor to make a paste. Combine spinach with eggs, semolina, and salt and process until smooth. Stir in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough. Knead briefly, cover and set aside.
• For the ragu: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute bacon, carrot, celery and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in ground pork, ground beef and minced ham, and cook until browned. Stir in tomato paste, oregano and beef stock. (Reserve the chicken livers for later.) Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• For the bechamel: While the ragu is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
• To cook pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. On a floured surface, divide pasta dough into three portions. Roll each portion out to a thin sheet. Have ready an ice water bath. Cook each sheet 3 minutes in the boiling water; remove from the boiling water and dip in the ice water; drain and dry on a clean, dry cloth.
• To finish the ragu: Stir the chicken livers into the simmering sauce. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• To assemble lasagna: Place one pasta sheet in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread one-third of the ragu, one-quarter of the bechamel, one-third of the ricotta, and one-quarter of the parmesan over the pasta. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bechamel and parmesan and dot with butter.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

LASAGNE AL FORNO WITH BOLOGNESE RAGU

Steps:

• Fry the vegetables in a little olive oil until they soften. (Some Italian chefs insist that the meat and vegetables be fried separately as they require different levels of heat)
• In a separate pan fry the minced meat in heated olive oil over a medium heat until it begins to brown and then add the vegetables. (you can also cook the meat with the veg)
• Add the wine and continue stirring. When the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomatoes and/or passata and the stock.
• Lower the heat and leave to simmer partially covered for at least 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the milk, stir and continue to let the sauce simmer for another 30 minutes.
• If you think the sauce is too liquidy you can remove the cover completely till it reduces. But if you are using fresh or uncooked pasta the sauce needs to be a little liquidy.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, incorporate the sifted flour and mix everything with a wooden spoon or whisk until you have a paste (roux)
• Cook the roux until it is golden, and at this point add the milk a little at a time, plus a pinch of salt and a ½ teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Continue to stir until the sauce reaches the consistency you want.
• If you are using dried pasta sheets partly cook them in boiling salted water. You may want to add a little olive oil to the water so they don't stick together or cook them one at a time!
• Then butter a rectangular baking dish and spread a little sauce on the bottom. Make a layer of lasagne sheets, cover them with a layer of sauce, some béchamel and a sprinkling of grated cheese.
• Then put another layer of pasta, then bolognese sauce, béchamel and cheese and so on until the ingredients are used up, leaving some béchamel for the final layer.
• Cover the last layer with béchamel sauce, grated parmesan and some butter flakes.
• Bake your lasagne al forno in a preheated oven at 170-180 °c (338-356°F)for about thirty minutes. When the surface is golden and the pasta is cooked (check using a fork) remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. If using uncooked pasta it's a good idea to cover the dish with aluminium foil for the first 15 minutes as otherwise the top may get golden before the pasta is cooked.
• Allow the lasagne al forno to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA BOLOGNESE (LASAGNA AL FORNO)

Steps:

• TOMATO SAUCE.
• Place oil and butter in a saucepan, and turn the heat to medium.
• When the butter starts foaming, add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.
• Sauté and stir until the onion is soft and translucent.
• This is the time to add the ground meat if using.
• Stir with a wooden spoon, and break the meat into small bits. Cook until the meat is fully browned.
• Add the wine, salt and pepper (to taste). Turn the heat to high, and let the wine evaporate. (Posting of 1/4 cup wine would not register correctly when entering recipe).
• Add the tomato, nutmeg, and milk (milk helps cut down on acidity). When the sauce starts boiling, turn the heat to low.
• Cover the saucepan and simmer slowly for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• WHITE SAUCE.
• Place butter in a saucepan and turn the heat to low. When the butter is melted, remove the saucepan from the stove.
• Add the flour, stirring continuously until golden.
• Add the milk a little at a time. Put the saucepan back on the stove and slowly stir with a wooden spoon, until the sauce starts boiling and becomes thicker.
• Turn heat off. Add salt to taste, and stir in the 1 oz. grated parmigiano cheese and pinch of nutmeg.
• PASTA.
• Begin cooking lasagna pasta in salted water as directed on package. Prepare al dente. To stop the cooking process, run cold water over drained pasta.
• While pasta is cooking, begin.
• PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease heavily a large 13x9 baking dish.
• Spread 2-3 Tbs. of tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place one layer of pasta over sauce in dish.
• Spread with tomato sauce but not so thick you can't see pasta showing thru.
• Spread with Balsamella white sauce. Try to pour as evenly as possible but don't blend. Not all tomato sauce should be covered.
• Top with 2 ozs grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.
• Repeat two times.
• Top layer will be a beautiful marble of white sauce over the tomato sauce.
• Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes. Doneness is when you fork the lasagna, it will pull out easily from the pasta.
• Serve hot.

LASAGNE AL FORNO

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, stir together the beef, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper. Form into balls the size of olives. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs in small batches. Remove from the pan as they brown and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
• In the same skillet, add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is lightly browned. Then stir in the tomato puree and tomato paste. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.
• Add the meatballs to the tomato mixture and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, liberally salt the boiling water and add the lasagna. Cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in colander.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a shallow ovenproof pan, roughly 13 by 9 by 2 inches, spread a thin layer of the sauce (no meatballs). Then spread a layer of overlapping lasagna 1 strip thick (don't let the strips run up the side of the dish). Cover that with mozzarella slices and then 5 tablespoons ricotta. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and then spread on 1/4 of the sauce and meatballs. Begin again with a layer of lasagna and continue as above until all the ingredients are used up, ending with the Parmesan.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. If the cheese on top hasn't melted, run under the broiler briefly. Then let the dish rest at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

LASAGNE AL FORNO - TRADITIONAL FROM BOLOGNA

Steps:

• Ragu: Heat tablespoon of oil in your largest pan over a medium heat. Sweat onion. Grind pancetta in a food processor until finely chopped. Add to the pan along with the garlic and continue cooking 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to casserole. Add tablespoon of oil to the pan, turn up to high heat. Add minced beef browning. Transfer to casserole. Repeat with pork - transfer to casserole. And again for chicken liver. Place the casserole over direct heat, stir. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine, a really good seasoning of salt and pepper and about a quarter of a nutmeg, grated. Stir, allow to come up to simmering point. While that happens, strip the leaves from the basil, tear them and add. As soon as mixture is simmering, cook slowly in oven for 4 hours without lid (stirring intermittently) When that happens, remove the casserole from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, then strip the remaining leaves off the basil, tear them into small pieces and stir them it. Besciamella sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, slowly stir in the flour until smooth. Continue stirring as the flour cooks to a light, golden color, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and slowly whisk the hot milk into the roux. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low. Continue simmering until the flour has softened and become completely smooth, about

LASAGNA AL FORNO

Steps:

• Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly, coat with olive oil keep them moist and easy to work with.
• Coat a large skillet with olive oil. Saute over medium heat, onion, garlic and herbs. Cook 5 minutes. Brown beef and sausage until no longer pink, about 15 minutes. Drain fat into a small container and discard. Stir in the tomato paste completely. Set aside to cool.
• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parsley and oregano. Stir in beaten eggs. Add Parmesan, season with salt and pepper.
• To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch pan with a ladle full of tomato sauce. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the pasta. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the meat, spread to the edges with a spatula. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of tomato sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of noodles, meat, cheeses and sauce. Top last layer with noodles, sauce and shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.