General Discussion

I'm looking for an authentic Lasagne recipe. Can anyone help?

Good question Chuffer! It's so hard to find a decent lasagne these days - this is the recipe handed down to me by my mother.

Ingredients:
Minced Beef 450g
Tin of Tomatoes 400g
Mushrooms 100g
Chopped onion 1
Garlic 1 clove
Beef Stock 1/2 pint (300ml)
Butter 25g
Lasagne Verdi 1 Packet

The White Sauce:
Milk 300ml
Butter 25g
Plain Flour 25g
Grated Cheddar 50g

Making Method:
1. To prepare the Meat Sauce, fry the Mince Beef and Onion until brown.
2. Stir in the Stock, Garlic, Tomatoes and Mushrooms (sliced).
3. Cook for about an hour until thick and rich.
4. If necessary add 2 tablespoons of Cornflour dissolved in a small amount of cold water to thicken.
5. Grease an oven proof dish.
6. To make the Bechamel sauce, melt the Butter, stir the Flour in and add the Milk,
stirring until thickened.
7. Grate the Cheese and add. Add seasoning to taste.
8. Layer the ingredients repeatedly, starting with the Meat Sauce, then the Lasagne, ending with the Bechamel Sauce.
9. Sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese on top and bake in the oven at 400F / 200C / Mark 6 for about 45 minutes.
10. Serve with Parmesan Cheese.

Serves 8 hungry people.

Thanks for that mate, I'll give it a whirl. Will go nicely with a Pinot Grigio, I suspect.

Grigio so last week

I disagree that it is last year. A light Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio as it is known in Italy) has the tartness to counterbalance a lasagna oozing with molten cheese and thick tomato sauce.

However in my opinion lasagne needs a big wine, and nothing is better with it than a BIG Chianti.

Molto Bello!

+5

brits put too much cheese in their lasagnes. hardly authentic

You sound like the life and soul of the party.

Can you tell us your recipe then please Anon? I thought 50g is about right for the sauce - how much would you use? Thanks.

+5

Don't worry, I think your recipe sounds divine! Can't wait to try it out.

My favourite is Spinach mushroom and walnut.
Cook a bag of fresh spinach as directed, saute a few mushrooms and add some walnuts.
Make up a packet of savory sauce mix and top with a little cheese if required.
one of my Delicious veggie recipes

That sounds lush.

omg its that big brother chav!

REX 2 WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i wanted mario to win. he's so sexy. and he's italian too. like lasagne is.

Ingredients:
oil for frying
450g/1lb lean minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
150g/5oz button mushrooms, sliced
3 tsp tomato purée
2 bay leaves
2 x 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
butter, for greasing
300g/10½oz 'no pre-cook' lasagne sheets
300g/10½oz cottage cheese
150g/5oz mature cheddar, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
green salad
garlic bread

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the mince and cook until brown all over, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the onions, peppers and mushrooms and fry over a medium heat until softened.
4. Return the mince to the pan. Add the tomato purée and bay leaves and cook for five minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and dried herbs and heat to bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Grease a 25 x 20cm/10 x 8in baking dish and line the bottom with pasta.
7. Remove the bay leaves from the mince mixture and spoon about one third of the mixture onto the pasta.
8. Place blobs of cottage cheese (again totalling one-third of the cottage cheese) on top of the mince.
9. Repeat this layering process of lasagne sheets, mince and cottage cheese for more layers, finishing with a good sprinkling of cheddar all over the top.
10. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is golden-brown and bubbling and the pasta cooked through.
11. To serve, cut out squares of the lasagne and place onto plates. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread.

Ingredients:
750g rump or chuck steak
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato purée
50g butter
50g plain flour
568ml full-fat milk
100g Parmesan, coarsely grated
9 dried plain lasagne sheets
Good bunch basil leaves

Method:
1. Trim and discard any fat from the steak, then cut the meat into very small dice and set aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the beef and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until coloured all over. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute. Add enough cold water (about 350ml) to just cover the meat and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 11/2 hours. Top up with water occasionally, if necessary. Uncover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until you have a rich sauce.

2. When the bolognese is nearly ready, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until thickened. Stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan, season and set aside.

3. If you are using lasagne sheets that don’t need pre-cooking, go to step 4. But it’s more traditional to use sheets that need blanching. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Drop a few sheets at a time into the water and cook for a few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into iced water.

4. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Layer the lasagne. Spread a little of the béchamel sauce in the base of a deep, 2.25-litre ovenproof dish. Add 3 lasagne sheets in 1 layer, cutting them to fit your dish, if necessary. Add a third of the béchamel sauce, then top with half the meat. Scatter with torn basil and a little Parmesan. Make another layer of 3 lasagne sheets, then spread with a third of the béchamel, the rest of the meat and a little more basil and Parmesan. Add a final layer of 3 lasagne sheets and spread the rest of the béchamel on top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 8-10 minutes until deep golden.

Wine note:
Try a fruity Italian red, such as Barbera or Dolcetto, or a French Côtes-du-Rhône.

Ingredients:
For the tomato sauce:
125ml/4½fl oz olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 x 400g/14oz cans whole plum tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
large handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

For the meatballs:
250g/9oz minced beef
250g/9oz minced pork
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
1 free-range egg, beaten
olive oil, for frying
flour, for dusting

For the lasagne:
500g/1lb 2oz fresh lasagne sheets
200g/7oz parmesan, grated
4 hard-boiled free-range eggs, sliced
200g/7oz ricotta cheese
4 mozzarella balls, roughly chopped



Method:
1. For the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and fry gently until softened.
2. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the basil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce is reduced. Set aside.
3. For the meatballs, place all the meatball ingredients, except the oil and flour, into a bowl and mix well. Using your hands, shape the mixture into walnut-sized balls.
4. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large frying pan. Dust the meatballs in flour, then fry in the hot oil until golden-brown on all sides. Do this in batches, depending on the size of your frying pan. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
6. For the lasagne, spread a little of the tomato sauce over the base of a large ovenproof dish.
7. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, then spoon over some more tomato sauce.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan, followed by some egg slices and a few meatballs. Dot over some ricotta and pieces of mozzarella.
9. Top with more sheets of pasta and repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients, finishing with tomato sauce, meatballs, eggs and both cheeses.
10. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
11. Remove the foil and cook for a further five minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the top is golden-brown. Serve immediately.

Vincigrassi-style lasagne

Ingredients:
For the sauce
60ml/2fl oz olive oil
400g/14oz porcini mushrooms, sliced
200g/7oz prosciutto or Serrano ham, torn into strips
1.2 litres/2 pints double cream
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz butter, plus extra for greasing
85g/3oz parmesan, finely grated
55g/2oz fontina cheese, crumbled
450g/1lb fresh lasagne sheets

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Heat a little of the olive oil in a frying pan, add the porcini and fry until golden-brown.
3. Place the prosciutto or Serrano ham, cream and parsley into a bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the cooked porcini.
4. Generously grease a gratin dish with butter. Cover the base of the gratin dish with a third of the porcini mixture, sprinkle over a third of the grated parmesan, a third of the fontina and a few knobs of butter. Cover with half of the lasagne sheets.
5. Repeat this process one more time and finish with a third layer of the porcini mixture, parmesan, fontina and butter.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling on top.
Serve.

Ingredients:
90ml/3fl oz extra virgin olive oil
1 kilo/3lb 2¼oz pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
250g/9oz fresh ricotta cheese
paprika to taste
nutmeg to taste
salt
fresh ground black pepper

For the béchamel sauce:
55g/2oz butter
55g/2oz plain flour
350ml/10 ½fl oz milk
or use readymade bechamel sauce

250g/8 ¾oz green lasagne pasta
25g/1oz grated parmesan cheese, or vegetarian parmesan-style grating cheese

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Put the olive oil in a large pan and cook the diced pumpkin for one hour or more on a very low heat. Stir frequently and keep covered. The pumpkin is ready when it is completely tender.
3. Season pumpkin with plenty of paprika, nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper and a little salt to taste.
4. Add the ricotta cheese while it's still on the heat. Stir well then remove from the heat. Cover and allow to stand.
5. To make béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan without letting it fry, add the flour little by little, stirring regularly to avoid lumps.
6. When the flour has evenly absorbed the butter, continue to stir and let it cook.
7. Add the milk a little at a time until a smooth, thick and creamy sauce is obtained. Season.
8. In a large ovenproof dish, arrange a layer of lasagne pasta, cover with pumpkin mixture, pasta again, pumpkin mixture and finish with a layer of lasagne pasta.
9. Pour the milk on top and allow it to drain through to all pasta layers.
10. Bake for 10 minutes in hot oven, remove and spread the béchamel sauce on top.
11. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until all the milk has been absorbed by the pasta and the lasagne looks cooked and slightly crispy. Take care not to burn the pasta or the béchamel on top, which has to stay white and creamy.
12. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately.

You will need a pasta machine for this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 live lobsters, each 700g/1lb 9oz
1 onion, chopped
large bouquet soft herbs (tarragon, parsley, chervil, dill)
1 lemon, quartered
1 tsp salt

For the lobster sauce:
a little olive oil and butter, plus extra for greasing
1 large leek, roughly chopped
4 large shallots, roughly chopped
bunch parsley stalks
lemon juice, to taste
250g/9oz baby plum tomatoes
1.2 litres/2 pints fish stock or white chicken stock
100ml/3½fl oz double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
bunch chives, snipped

For the pasta:
100g/3½oz '00' pasta flour or strong plain flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting
good pinch salt
6 free-range egg yolks
1 tsp truffle oil or olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Gruyère cream sauce:
1 shallot, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 strip lemon peel
25ml/1fl oz vermouth
225ml/8fl oz whipping cream
50g/2oz Gruyère cheese, grated

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
2. First cook the lobsters. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the onion, bouquet garni, lemon and salt. Once boiling, lower in the lobsters and when the water boils again, cook for 6 minutes. Take the lobsters out and immediately plunge into iced water.
3. Twist off the large claws and the body and head section from the tail. Using a pair of sturdy scissors carefully snip along the length of the tail shell, then ease the meat away from the shell. Gently break the shell of the claws, then extract the meat. Repeat the procedure with the other lobster. Set all the meat aside.
4. Keep the tail shells and body and head sections (not the claw shells) for the lobster sauce. If the lobsters have any dark green jelly in their bodies, keep this as it is wonderful added to sauces for colour and flavour.
5. Next make the lobster sauce. Place the lobster shells in a roasting tin and roast for about 20 minutes to allow the shells to dry out a little.
6. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan and sweat the leek and shallots with the parsley stalks. Add the roasted lobster shells together with the lemon juice, tomatoes and enough stock to cover. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer gently for 1 hour.
7. Remove from the heat and blitz the whole lot (heads included) in a food processor, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.
8. Bring to the boil and simmer to reduce by about half, skimming off any scum. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency and flavour, whisk in the cream. Season to taste with salt (if necessary) and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
9. To make the pasta, sift the flour and salt into a food processor. Beat all the egg yolks with the truffle oil in a jug. With the motor running, quickly pour in the egg and oil mixture. As soon as the ingredients come together as a crumbly textured dough, remove from the machine and knead into a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.
10. Cut the pasta dough into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each piece with your hands. On the widest setting, roll the dough through the pasta machine. Fold in half and roll it through the machine again. Do this seven times in all. Set the machine on setting 2 and roll through once. Repeat on setting 3 and continue the process up to setting 6. Lay the resulting long strip of pasta on your work surface. Using a 7.5cm/3in round cutter, cut out 12 discs. Repeat with the other piece of pasta dough. Allow the pasta discs to dry out while you make the Gruyère cream sauce.
11. To make the Gruyère cream sauce, fry the shallot in the olive oil until soft, then add the lemon peel and vermouth and bring to the boil. Simmer to reduce the liquid by half.
12. Add the cream, bring back to the boil and simmer again to reduce and thicken. Pass through a sieve into another pan. Set aside.
12. Reduce the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
13. Divide the lobster meat into 8 portions on a buttered baking tray, giving each one a little claw meat as well as tail meat. Cover each portion with 3 tablespoons of the lobster sauce, then cover the tray with cling film. Place in the oven to warm through while you cook the pasta.
14. Drop the pasta discs into a pan of gently boiling salted water. Cook for about 3 minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon. Quickly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and give them a splash of olive oil.
15. To serve, stir the snipped chives into the remaining lobster sauce and stir the cheese into the cream sauce. Place a pasta disc in the centre of each warm plate. Place a portion of lobster on top, then cover with another pasta disc. Repeat the lobster and pasta layers, then spoon over the lobster sauce and, finally, the Gruyère cream sauce.

chicken joey shed deacon must be very fat with all that grease!

Ingredients:
at least 500g/1lb2oz fresh porcini, or other boletus (ideally twice that quantity)
275g/10oz parma ham, sliced very finely
white lasagne sheets, ideally fresh, but dried can be used (enough to make at least 3 layers in an 20cmx25cm/8x10in baking tray)
at least 250g/9oz fresh parmesan
truffle oil (optional)
butter

For the bé chamel:
500ml/17fl oz hot milk
50g/2oz butter
50g/2oz plain flour
pinch nutmeg
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. To make the bé chamel sauce, mix the flour with the melted butter in the pan and cook it for a few minutes. Add the hot milk by degrees and stir to thicken. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for just a minute. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
2. Grate half the parmesan and stir into the bé chamel. The finished bechemel should be a thick pouring consistency. Add a little more hot milk if necessary.
3. To prepare the rest of the ingredients, slice the whole boletus into large but very thin slices. If you are using dried lasagne of the kind that requires pre-cooking, then cook according to the instructions. Scrape the rest of the parmesan into shavings with a large knife blade or potato peeler.
4. Pour a small amount of the bé amel onto the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Put a layer of white lasagne on top followed by a layer of thinly-sliced ceps, a layer of parma ham and a layer of slivers of parmesan. Season with a few drops of truffle oil.
5. Then pour over a layer of béamel and repeat the layers. You can make as many layers as you have ingredients, or space for, but finish with a layer of béamel sauce, some grated parmesan and a few knobs of butter.
6. Bake for around 20-30 minutes in a fairly hot oven (190C/375F/Gas 5) until nicely browned on top.