Lasagna

mikeb1999

Hi all. Firstly, I would like to thank you for these amazing recipes. I can't wait to get Joule so I can start making sous vide.

Secondly, my wife comes from a family of bakers and I want you to know that she thought your cake frosting for the chocolate cake was the best she's ever had. The cake was awesome.

And finally, I need an amazing lasagna recipe. I'm sure you get a ridiculous amount of requests, but lasagna is a place I have never really ventured. It is typically so heavy greasy and boring, that I would never bother. If you have one that you can share it would be fantastic. Thank you very much!

Find more posts tagged with

Everything Else

Comments

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

second that...

FrankM_3301

This is classic, is not heavy or greasy, and is delicious: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/lasagne-bolognese-al-forno-recipe.html

tshewman

Here the cs version. I have made this 3-4 times and it is delicious!

You can freeze in individual portions as well. It keeps well vacuum sealed.

Lasagna

Ricotta filling:

Ricotta 700g

Spinach, blanched 425g

Whole Egg 75g

Blanch the spinach and combined it with the ricotta in a food

processor, blending until homogenous.

Then added the eggs and pulsing to just combine.

The eggs will help bind together the lasagna once baked.

Meat:

1400g Pork Sausage

For this step you can use any kind of meat you'd like, or even

substitute meat for sautéed eggplant and/or mushrooms.

If using ground meat simply saute it in a pan with olive oil until

cooked, and reserve for later.

Tomato Sauce:

1/2 whole sweet onion diced

2.5 cloves garlic, minced

170g Tomato paste

130g Harissa

2cans (28oz each) Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes

11g Salt

6.5g MSG (optional, but delicious)

1.5g Black pepper, ground

75g Basil

Slowly sweat the garlic and onions until translucent and very

fragrant, without developing any color. 4-5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and Harissa and continue to cook for another 3-4

minutes on medium/low heat.

Add salt, MSG, and pepper and stir into mixture.

Finally add your canned tomatoes and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes,

string regularly to avoid scorching.

To finish the sauce transfer everything to a food processor and pulse

with the Basil for 1 minute until basil is fully incorporated and all

large chunks have disappeared.

Alternatively you can use a stick blender.

Assembly

a/n Mozzarella cheese, shredded

For the baking vessel we used a large Le Creuset, but you can use

anything from individual ramekins, to a metal loaf pan, or any other

baking pan you have laying around.

On the bottom of the pan apply a nice layer of olive oil to prevent

the noodle sheets from sticking.

For our lasagna we layered it (in order): Pasta, Ricotta, Sauce, Meat,

Mozzarella, Pasta.

Three to four layers is ideal.

The final top layer should be all mozzarella.

(With the leftover supplies and sauce you can bake little individual

lasagnas in small loaf pans)

Bake time

We baked our lasagna covered at 325˚f for 1 hour and 30 min.

Then uncovered at 400˚f for 10 minutes (or until browned).

This time will differ oven to oven, and depend mostly on the shape and

size of the lasagna you are making.

A very basic way to tell if your lasagna is done cooking is to insert

a knife or probe into the middle and take it out and feel if it is

hot. Since the meat is already cooked we are really just looking to

get the lasagna hot all the way through.

You should also see oil and fat bubbling up around the sides of the

baking dish, and the cheese should start to brown and caramelize

around the edges.

Once the lasagna has cooked through, uncover it and crank the oven

temperature up to brown the cheese on top.

Amos_Schorr_168815

The best lasagna I've ever made was white and vegetarian. Sweet potato lasagna with sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and basil everywhere. And ricotta, fresh mozz, and parmiggiano.

Use a mandolin to cut 1/8" slices of sweet potato, and then caramelize the hell out of them in a frying pan. Reserve. Deeply caramelize some onions with some balsamic, red wine vinegar, AND red wine (seems redundant, but it's worth it). And add roasted garlic to that too. Then saute some mushrooms. Use whatever you like, because basically any mushroom will work here. Season aggressively, and saute with fresh basil.

Mix the mushrooms and onions together and let them cool. Then mix them with fresh ricotta cheese, and once more, season VERY aggressively with salt and pepper. Ricotta has the tendency to make everything bland if you let it. And add a bunch more fresh basil, add chili flake, more garlic, and whatever else you want.

Now, I like having just one thin layer of the sweet potato, because it's just a nice hidden surprise and not overpowering, but you can use more if you like. Layer the pasta with the sweet potato, ricotta/mushroom/onion mixture, mozzarella, and fresh grated parmiggiano reggiano. Bake for about 45mins at 350. Wait 10 mins, and then serve.