Lasagne Al Forno
Serves : 6
Ingredients:
450g / 1lb Dried Lasagne
Salt
¼ cup / 4 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Medium Onion
1kg / 2lb Fresh or Canned Plum Tomatoes
1 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Fresh Basil (One-Third the
quantity, if using dried)
2½ cups / 600ml / 1 pint Béchamel Sauce
Instructions:
- Preheat
the oven to 425°F / 220°C / Gas Mark 7.
- Cook
the strips of lasagne
until just soft in a large pot of boiling water and a little olive oil.
- Remove
from the water, drain them, and lay them out, not overlapping, on a
lightly-greased work surface.
- Using
a little over half the oil, make a
tomato sauce as for Spaghetti
Morgan.
- Grease
the bottom of a 30cm / 12 inch baking dish with the remaining oil. Cover it
with a layer of the cooked pasta.
- Spoon
a layer of the tomato sauce on to the pasta, followed by
a layer of the béchamel.
- Proceed
thus until the dish is full: pasta, sauce, béchamel, pasta, sauce and so
on. (Ensure you retain sufficient béchamel
for a generous final coating.)
- Bake
in the very hot oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the top has browned
well and begun to crisp at the edges.
Lasagne Al Forno
A second version of the recipe.
My first lasagne recipe has, I have to admit, been a real winner and
stood me in good stead over the years, but at the same time it's clearly now in
need of an update and that's simply because we are now able to buy more
authentic ingredients. I have also discovered from an Italian friend that the
long, slow cooking of the ragù really does develop
all the flavours in an absolutely wonderful way. It could be said that lasagne
has suffered greatly from being anglicised, factory made and all too often
served as cheap nosh so that its authenticity is obliterated. All the more reason to reinvent this great classic dish in all its
original glory. Because it is so often ideal to serve a large amount of
people I've doubled my original quantities so that it will now serve 10 – 12
people. If, however, you only want to serve 4 – 5 people, make up the full
quantity, divide the mixture between 2 ovenproof dishes – base measurement 9
inch / 23cm square, 1½ in / 4cm deep – and freeze half for another time.
Serves : 10 – 12
Ingredients:
1lb /
450g Green no-cook Lasagne
Sheets (about 24 sheets)
14oz / 400g Mozzarella,
diced
4oz / 110g Parmesan
(Parmigiano Reggiano),
freshly grated
FOR THE
RAGU BOLOGNESE:
12oz /
350g Minced Beef
12oz / 350g Minced Pork
6oz / 175g Chicken Livers
2 x 100g packs Pancetta
4 tbsp Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Finely
Chopped
2 Fat Cloves Garlic,
chopped
2 tins Italian Chopped Tomatoes,
one 400g, one 230g
6 level tbsp Tomato Purée
6 floz /
175ml Red Wine
Whole Nutmeg
Salt and Freshly
Milled Black Pepper
1 x 15g pack Fresh Basil
FOR THE
CREAM SAUCE:
2½ pints / 1.5 litres Milk
6oz / 175g Butter
4oz / 110g Plain Flour
6 floz / 175ml Double Cream
Instructions:
- First
of all take a large frying pan, the largest you have, and heat 1
tablespoon of the oil
over a medium heat and gently fry the onion for about 10
minutes, moving it around from time to time.
- While
the onion is
softening, chop the pancetta:
the best way to do this after opening the pack is to roll the contents into
a sausage shape, then using a sharp knife, slice it lengthways into 4, then slice the lengths across as finely as possible.
- After
10 minutes, add this to the pan to join the onion, add the garlic and
continue cooking the whole lot for about 5 minutes.
- Now
transfer this mixture to the casserole.
- Then
add another tablespoon of oil to the pan,
turn up the heat to it highest then add the minced beef and brown it,
breaking it up and moving it round in the pan. A wooden fork is really
helpful here. When the beef
is browned tip it into the casserole to join the onions etc then
heat another tablespoon of oil and do
exactly the same with the minced pork.
- While
the pork is
browning, trim the chicken livers, rinse them under cold running water and
dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper. Pull off any skin and snip out any
odd bits of fat or tubes with kitchen scissors and chop them minutely
small.
- When
the pork is browned,
transfer that to the casserole, then finally heat the remaining tablespoon
of oil and
cook the pieces of chicken liver, adding these to the casserole as soon as
they have browned nicely.
- Next
you need to remove the pan then place the casserole over the direct heat
and give everything a really good stir together, then add the contents of
both tins of tomatoes,
the tomato purée,
red wine and a really good seasoning of salt, pepper and about a
quarter of a nutmeg,
grated. More stirring now, then allow this to come up to simmering point.
- While
that happens strip the leaves from half the basil, tear them
into small pieces and add them to the pot.
- Then
as soon as everything is simmering, place the casserole on the centre
shelf of the oven, pre-heated to Gas Mark 1 / 275°F / 140°C, and leave it
to cook slowly, without a lid, for exactly 4 hours. (For
important information about cooking at gas mark 1.)
- It's
a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well and have
a good stir, but what you should end up with is a thick, reduced
concentrated sauce with only a trace of liquid left in it, so when that
happens remove it from the oven, taste to check the seasoning then strip
the leaves off the remaining basil, tear them
small and stir them in.
- Now
to make the cream sauce, place the milk, butter and flour and some
seasoning in a large thick-based saucepan. Place this over a gentle heat
and whisk continuously with a balloon whisk until the sauce comes to
simmering point and thickens. Then, with the heat as low as possible,
continue to cook the sauce for about 10 minutes.
- After
that, sieve the sauce into a bowl, beat in the cream, taste and
season if it needs it and grate in another quarter of the whole nutmeg.
- Now
spread about a quarter of the ragù over the base
of the prepared roasting tin or dish. Cover this with one fifth of the
cream sauce, followed by a quarter of the diced mozzarella,
then arrange a single layer of the lasagne over the
top (about 6 sheets). I find you need four placed side by side lengthways
and the other two halved and spread along the gap that's left. Repeat this
process, finishing with a final layer of cream sauce.
- Then
cover the whole lot with the grated Parmesan cheese
– and the lasagne is ready for the oven.
- All
this preparation can be done well in advance. Then when you're ready to
bake the lasagne pop it into a pre-heated oven, Gas Mark 4 / 350°F / 180°C
on the upper shelf for 45 – 50 minutes or until it's bubbling and turning
slightly golden on top.
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