Baked Lasagne

Lasagne

Lasagne is a traditional Italian dish, a flat shaped Pasta, oven baked with intervening layers of Béchamel and meat sauce and cheese. This is an easy homemade version without ricotta cheese. The preparation of lasagne  has mainly three steps: one is making the meat sauce and the second being the preparation of Béchamel sauce and finally the assembling and baking. So lets get started!

Ingredients for the meat sauce

• Spaghetti or pasta sauce of your choice : 1 bottle ( 350-400Gms)
• Ground or minced beef : 500 Gms
• Onion : 1 ( diced to small cubes)
• Cloves of garlic : 4-5 (crushed)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking oil : 3-4 tbsp.
• Water : 1/3 rd cup
• Italian seasoning or dried basil

Ingredients for the Béchamel Sauce

• Butter : 3 tbsp.
• All purpose flour : 3 tbsp.
• Fresh milk : 1 cup
• Cheddar cheese : 1/4 cup

Other ingredients

• Lasagne sheets
• water for boiling
• Mozarella cheese : 60-70 gms
• Parmesan cheese : 40gms
• Crushed Tomatoes : 100gms

Making the meat sauce

1. Add oil to wok and add the minced beef and break to small pieces using a spoon
2. Add the diced onions and garlic
3. Add the spaghetti sauce and the seasonings.( wash the bottle with 1/3rd cup of water and add along with the sauce)
4. Close lid and cook in low flame

Making the Béchamel sauce

1. Heat the butter in a pan
2. Add the flour 1 tbsp. at a time and blend well with the butter
3. Mix well in very slow flame until the dough mixes well with butter
4. Stir in the milk slowly by adding very little at a time and make it into a creamy sauce
5. After stirring in all the milk add in the cheese and mix till cheese melts.

Cooking the lasagne sheets

Boil water in a wide vessel and add some salt and oil to the water and add the noodles and cook for not more than 5 minutes. Do not cook the sheets completely. Drain water and keep aside


Assembling the Lasagne 

Take a square dish or rectangular dish which has space to align 3-4 lasagne sheets and is tall enough to accommodate 2-3 layers of sauces and noodles.

1. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish
2. Layer the noodles by slightly overlapping
3. Add a generous amount of béchamel and cover the noodles
4. Add the meat sauce on top of it and sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan
5. Repeat the process by adding noodles again and then béchamel and the meat sauce and both the cheese
6. The top layer needs to be the sauces topped with generous amount of mozzarella and parmesan.

Baking the lasagne

Place in a pre heated oven at 200° C and bake for 30 minutes until the cheese has bubbled and the cheese slightly changes colour on top. Cut into squares and serve hot!

Enjoy Baking!!
Shabana.