Lasagna is said to be more than just an Italian dish. It is rather a way of life. There are probably no people who would not like this casserole. In fact, lasagna is very easy to prepare. This is a baked, layered dough. Between its layers there is a filling and sauce. From above, as a rule, it is covered with cheese crust. In our time, lasagna has become an almost international dish that any housewife can cook at home. It can be tasted in all countries of the world, including Russia. To do this, do not go to a restaurant. Today we will learn how to cook lasagna. Recipes with photos of this pasta product will be offered to your attention further.
Dish history
We are used to the fact that lasagna is an integral part of Italian cuisine. But historians say that the ancestor of the dish appeared even among the ancient Greeks. They made round thin cakes of wheat flour called laganon. And between them put the stuffing. Then in Rome, this word turned into "lasanon." And only then they began to call it a dish from a special pasta with filling, baked in the oven. The Greeks and Italians also compete with the British. They believe they were the first to learn how to cook lasagna. Like, they served such a dish with a similar name back at the English royal court in the fourteenth century. The Scandinavians are not far behind, who claim that bread cakes with meat sauce and cheese were almost on the Viking table ... But still, it was the Italian recipe that became a classic. We will familiarize ourselves with it and its variations here.
What is classic Italian Lasagna
It is believed that almost every resident of this sunny Mediterranean country knows how to cook lasagna. But the first connoisseurs of this dish were the inhabitants of the province of Emilia-Romagna. They made him popular not only in their country, but throughout the world. Lasagna by the rules is prepared from six sheets of dough. On each layer put the filling. Sprinkle cheese on top and put a few pieces of butter. It is believed that the best chefs in this dish work in small rural taverns. In addition, Italians often like to experiment with filling using different varieties of cheese. For example, you can meet not only parmesan, but also ricotta and mozzarella. And the Italians consider bechamel the best sauce for climbing.
Dough
But we want to learn how to cook homemade lasagna. The photo of this dish is so appetizing that I want to try it not only in an Italian restaurant. Of course, the quickest way to do it is from ready-made sheets of dough. Moreover, they can be bought at almost any supermarket. But a few words we will devote to what it should be. Lasagna dough is similar to that used to make the famous Italian pasta. It should consist only of durum wheat flour. You will also need a quarter cup of cold water, one tablespoon of olive oil. For 400 grams of flour, two eggs are usually taken. Flour is sifted for splendor and mixed with salt. Then other products are added. Knead the dough into a ball, cover with a napkin to protect it from drying out, and leave for half an hour. And then they roll out very thinly - about 1 millimeter - and cut out the rectangles. Lasagna sheets are dried on both sides. They can be frozen and stored, or immediately proceed to the preparation of the dish itself.
Ingredient preparation
But since most housewives will still buy ready-made sheets of dough, we will devote most of this article to how to make this dish at home in such a way as not to spend too much time. To start, we select all the necessary products. The classic Italian lasagna Bolognese will serve as a model for us. Using her example, we will quickly master the recipe, and then we will tell our friends how to cook lasagna with minced meat with ready-made sheets of dough. So, we will need one package of special pasta. You should also take about 800 grams of ground beef, a pound of Parmesan cheese, two large juicy tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, vegetable oil (olive oil is best), as well as spices (salt, pepper, a mixture of Italian or Provencal herbs). These are the basic components from which we will make the filling.
Base for strata
Even with ready-made sheets of dough, you need to know how to cook them correctly and how to quickly prepare lasagna. We put a pot of water on the fire, wait for the boil, add salt. You can add a spoonful of olive oil. Then lay the pasta sheets. Cook for 9-11 minutes or as indicated on the package. Then we discard them in a colander, shake and pour cold water (or rinse in it). This is done so that the sheets do not stick together. We set them apart and move on to the next step.
How to cook lasagna: a step by step recipe. Filling
Step number 1. Heat the pan, pour a little oil. We fry ground beef on it. Salt, pepper, lay spices.
Step number 2. We make mashed potatoes from tomatoes and tomato paste - for example, in a food processor.
Step number 3. Parmesan grind on a coarse grater.
Step No. 4. Add the tomato mixture to the grilled minced meat. All this is heated in such a way that the filling begins to boil. On a small fire, bring it to a thickening.
And what about the holiday?
If guests are about to rush in, we will prepare the filling according to the Bolognese type. We will need three types of minced meat: beef, pork and veal. We will take them in the proportion of 250/250/150. Also, two varieties of ham - bacon and prosciutto - three to four slices each will go to the filling. From vegetables you will need onions (1 head), 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 cups of mashed tomatoes and 340 grams of chopped mushrooms. Liquid ingredients will also be needed. One glass of chicken broth and white wine, as well as 150 grams of heavy cream. From greens - a large handful of chopped parsley. Well, and spices - nutmeg, cloves, salt, pepper.
We are acting step by step. How to cook lasagna
Photos depicting how to make this dish perfectly illustrate the ease of the process. But for the holiday option, we will complicate it a bit and make a special mince “Bolognese”. How to cook lasagna with such a filling?
Step # 1. In a pan, heat a mixture of olive and butter.
Step No. 2. Fry the finely chopped bacon and prosciutto.
Step number 3. Just a minute later, add chopped vegetables (except for tomatoes and mushrooms). They are extinguished over a small fire until they soften.
Step number 4. Spread the stuffing. While they are preparing, we add the broth and wine. We continue to simmer all this until it thickens.
Step number 5. Add tomatoes, nutmeg and cloves. If necessary, you can add hot water. This mixture should languish for 45 minutes over low heat.
Step number 6. Well, in the end, add the rest of the ingredients and - before turning off the heat - cream.
How to Cook Bechamel for Bolognese Lasagna
This is a very simple sauce of French origin. But Italians prefer it to any other. If you want to know how to successfully cook lasagna at home, learn how to make it. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a pan. When it becomes liquid, add the same amount of flour, stirring all the time so as not to burn. Until the mass in the pan boils and becomes brownish, it needs to be heated. Meanwhile, prepare two glasses of warm milk. In a thin stream, start pouring milk into the butter-flour mixture. Continue stirring, otherwise lumps will form and the sauce will not acquire a velvety texture. Do it better with a wooden spoon. When the sauce thickens, the fire can be turned off.
Folding and baking dishes
As you can see, cooking lasagna at home is not so difficult. We just have to bake it. To do this, we take the form - best of all is a cast-iron square or rectangular baking sheet with high walls. Chefs also recommend ceramic or refractory glass molds. Metal trays must be non-stick. At the bottom of the form, pour a little bechamel. This sauce is evenly distributed on the surface. Next, we will go boiled sheets of dough for lasagna. Then we spread the Bolognese stuffing. It is called so because this filling is similar to a spaghetti sauce of the same name. Lubricate with bechamel. And on top we sprinkle everything with grated Parmesan. It can be replaced by other varieties of hard cheese, such as Dutch. Alternate layers again and then again until the products run out. At this time, we heat the oven to 190 degrees. Now we send there our lasagna in the form. And after 40 minutes it can already be pulled out.
Other types of fillings
Modern Italians are not “orthodox” in the field of how to cook lasagna. Culinary magazines in Rome, Naples and Bologna adorn photos of this dish with different fillings. Not only minced meat is used in climbing. Fish and seafood, chicken and ham, zucchini and eggplant, zucchini and eggplant, spinach and mushrooms - everything goes into business. Interesting combinations of beef, chicken and pineapple. Neapolitans prefer a filling of ground boiled squid, shrimp and mussels. They are stewed with tomato sauce, parsley and nutmeg. And in coastal cities, fish and egg filling with spices and herbs is often used. Loved in Italy and minced vegetables and mushrooms. It is believed that champignons, eggplant, zucchini, onions and bell peppers are best suited to each other. Fried vegetables are also stewed with tomatoes and spices. There are even dessert lasagna with sweet fillings - from nuts, poppy seeds, berries and fruits. In a word, you can experiment with any products.
Other types of sauces
In addition to the classic bechamel sauce, you can pick up other variations of climbing seasonings at home. How to cook such gravy? You can replace milk with cream or fat sour cream in bechamel. Sometimes for lasagna make gravy on the broth. And it happens that they use tomato sauces with smoked meats. The main thing is that there is a lot of gravy, and it saturated both minced meat and layers of dough. Then the climb will be excellent. And sweet, dessert versions of this dish are poured on top with chocolate topping and whipped cream.
Cat Garfield's Lasagna
This hero of the famous comic book series is the most popular “fan” of the Italian dish made of pastry sheets with filling. To understand what the hero likes so much, you need to know how to cook pasta lasagna with minced cheese. To do this, we need half a pack of sheets for this dish. This is approximately 230-250 grams. Then take the same amount of grated mozzarella and two glasses of ricotta. But that is not all. We need a third kind of cheese - parmesan. We need it half a glass. Well, now a little salt, pepper and one egg, which we shake with a fork. While the lasagna leaves are boiling, mix all the products in a bowl. Separately, cook tomato sauce. We make it from two glasses of tomato puree, 100-150 grams of various finely chopped vegetables (mushrooms with onions or spinach are ideal). We mix these ingredients with oregano and olive oil (we take two tablespoons of both). Then we take the dishes for baking. Lubricate it with oil. We lay on the bottom a layer of cooked flat pasta for lasagna. Cover with a piece of minced cheese and grease with sauce. So we repeat until the dough is over - but it is better to dwell on six layers. Since there is no meat in this climbing, it cooks faster. Therefore, bake it for 20 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees.
How to serve
So we learned how to cook lasagna with you. Now let's see how to serve it to the table. First of all, the food should be hot. Therefore, lasagna is served immediately after cooking. Although some advise keeping the dish at room temperature for about ten minutes. Lasagna is decorated with green leaves, most often with basil. When serving, cut it into portions. Lasagna is placed on a table on a large heated plate or directly in the form in which it was baked.