We prepare delicious lasagna from ready-made sheets and homemade dough
Lasagna is rightfully considered a symbol of Italian cuisine, where it has the same significance as pizza and pasta. The dish is a casserole, consisting of layers of dough, between the layers of which the meat filling and sauce are laid. On top of the lasagna is covered with a fragrant crust of cheese.
Many Italian cookbooks tell you how to cook lasagna at home for lunch or dinner. The dish will decorate the festive table and diversify the usual lunch recipes. No special ingredients are needed for cooking. In the kitchen of every housewife there are components for lasagna.
Some culinary specialists prefer classic lasagna, while others, on the contrary, experiment and add various products. The result is fish, mushroom and even vegetable lasagna.
Calorie content
The dish of Italian cuisine is very satisfying. It is easy for them to feed all members of the family.
100 grams of lasagna contains 135 calories.For cooking use cheese, meat, spices and other ingredients. But despite this, it turns out to be moderately high-calorie.
Classic ready-made climbing
Many cooks use ready-made dough for sale at the store. It is a dried layer of dough made from wheat flour.
Classic lasagna consists of two sauces - bolognese and bechamel. Their combination makes it incredibly tasty, juicy and light. Bolognese is made from onions, garlic, minced meat and tomatoes. To prepare bechamel, you will need milk, butter and flour. When picking lasagna you do not need to regret the sauce. It is its quantity that determines the taste of the dish itself.
Bechamel sauce
Ingredients:- 50 g of oil;
- 50 g of flour;
- 1.5 cups of milk;
- 50 g of hard cheese;
- grated nutmeg - a pinch.
- Melt butter in a pan and add flour. Stir everything thoroughly and fry for several minutes.
- Pour milk into the dough and knead with a whisk so that there are no lumps.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Very soon, the sauce will begin to thicken.
- Add grated cheese and continue stirring until completely dissolved.
- Pour a pinch of nutmeg.
- Stir everything again and remove from heat.
Bolognese sauce
Let's start with making the bolognese sauce.
Ingredients:- 1 medium onion;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 PC. fresh bell pepper;
- salt;
- pepper;
- olive oil;
- 400 g ground beef;
- oregano;
- 3 fresh tomatoes;
- 2 tbsp. l tomato paste.
- Finely chop onion and garlic.
- Preheat the pan.
- Cut the bell peppers into small pieces.
- Fry garlic in olive oil, add onions and peppers. Stir and add salt and black pepper. Fry until cooked when the onion gains a golden hue.
- Add ground beef and mix all the ingredients.
- Put oregano and continue cooking over low heat.
- Remove peel from fresh tomatoes and grind with a grater or food processor. Add to minced meat.
- Pour in tomato paste and mix again. Cook another 15 minutes.
How to collect lasagna
- Turn on the oven so that it warms up to 200 degrees.
- Take a square shape of medium size. Put a little bechamel sauce on the bottom.
- At the bottom of the mold, place several sheets of dough so that it is completely closed.
- Put a little bolognese sauce on the dough and then lay the plates again. Classic lasagna consists of only 5 balls, but each hostess makes her own changes to the recipe. Alternate layers of pasta and bolognese.
- The last layer should consist of bolognese. Put grated cheese on it.
- On top of the cheese again form a layer of pasta and pour the bechamel sauce.
- Sprinkle with grated cheese again.
- Cover the mold with a lid or foil and put in the oven.
- Bake at a temperature of 180 - 190 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it brew for 10 minutes. Cut into portions, garnish with a fresh sprig of parsley, serve.
Video recipeHomemade dough Lasagna
The recipe for lasagna is the same as for pasta. It is better to choose flour from durum wheat. If you cook the plates yourself, the dish will turn out more tender and juicy.
Ingredients for the dough:
- 4 eggs;
- 250 g of flour;
- 1 tsp olive oil;
- a pinch of salt.
Pour flour into the hill. In the middle, make a recess and add the remaining components there. When making the dough, make sure that it turns out elastic. Then when cooking it will not lose shape and will not fall apart. After mixing the dough, it is covered with a film and placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The cold will help to become even more sticky and the finished plates will keep their shape well.
After 30 minutes, the dough is taken out of the refrigerator. Having formed a sausage from it, cut into equal sized cubes. Then the pieces are rolled into thin layers and squares or rectangles are cut, depending on the baking dish. Finished plates are boiled to al dente or left raw for further preparation.
Video cookingHow to cook lasagna in a slow cooker
Italian treats can also be prepared in the slow cooker. The technology is the same as in the oven. After all the ingredients are collected in balls, turn on the appropriate mode and wait for readiness. In each multicooker model, the name of the modes may differ.
Useful Tips
There is not a single cook who would not use secrets when cooking. And climbing is no exception. To taste unique, you need to know some secrets.
- During the preparation of the Bolognese sauce, instead of oregano, you can add rosemary or bay leaf.
- Some chefs use Italian herbs and other blends.
- When collecting lasagna, the balls should not be in close contact with the edges. Under the influence of high temperature, the dough layers are saturated with juices and the dish will increase in volume. This is why you need to leave a little space in the baking dish.
- If the lasagna is baked in the oven, the mold should be placed exactly in the center. So the treat is cooked evenly.
- To prepare a Bolognese sauce, instead of regular onions, you can use leek or take both ingredients in equal amounts. This will make the taste even more interesting.
It may seem that lasagna is very difficult to cook, but it is not. The components from which it is prepared are available to any person. To prepare lasagna, you do not need to have special culinary skills, the main thing is to carefully read the recipe and strictly follow it.