Lasagna
My love story with lasagna all began while being tucked away in silence in a city surrounded by countryside and the most lovely views..
I walked into the dining room that evening, and I was met with warm smiles at each turn, and the sounds of people drawing their chairs out to get seated for dinner. I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first time at a silent retreat, and I hadn’t fully realized it was going to be a silent retreat before arriving.
It was also my first time in Wales, and I had journeyed all the way North, having no idea what to expect, but feeling called in my spirit to go. And so here I was now, about to have a silent dinner with other retreaters, and curious about what the experience would feel like.
Lasagna was served, and something about eating my plate of lasagna, carefully, patiently and delicately, in silence, felt divine. It felt like the first time I had ever eaten lasagna. I savoured every bite, I took my time to explore the way all of the ingredients came together in harmony and I was left feeling deliciously full, satisfied and knowing that I was going to sleep well.
And this experience would happen again, and again, every other time we were served lasagna for dinner. This began a beautifully unexpected relationship with lasagna, and a quest to explore making it at home once I returned and with the thousands of recipes available online, I had a good plethora of them to play with.
I seem to have landed on yummy grounds here, so I thought I’d share, but I might update this recipe as I continue to try out different methods. If there’s one thing I would do differently, it would be to add more salt. I was worried about it being too salty, but I’ve learned that some of the salt seems to get lost during assembly.
Okay, let’s begin, shall we?
Yield: 8 to 10 people
Prep/cook time: 50 mins
Bake time: 40 mins
Total time: 90 mins
Ingredients
For the Bolognese:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
30 g of unsalted butter
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt
Vegetable Bullion (but any type of bullion should do)
1.5 tablespoons of minced garlic
Red chilli flakes (1 teaspoon, or to taste)
170 g tomato paste
1010 g of minced meat (ground beef)
240 ml of whole milk
240 ml of white wine
A dash or dried oregano (even better if you have fresh ones)
For the Bechamel:
70 g of unsalted butter
40 g of all-purpose flour
720 ml of whole milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
425 g of ricotta cheese
For the Assembly:
Olive oil, for brushing
Lasagna noodles, I used Rummo
200 g of grated parmigiano reggiano
150 g of mozzarella cheese
Steps
For the Bolognese
Heat the olive oil and butter in a pot over medium heat
Stir in the chopped carrot, celery and onions and allow fry until somewhat translucent
Then stir in the salt, the vegetable bullion, the chilli flakes and the garlic, and stir everything
Then add in the tomato paste and stir until it turns deep red in color (shouldn’t take about 3 mins)
Add in the minced meat, and cook until it’s no longer pink (should take about 10 mins). As it cooks, season with the salt and vegetable bouillon (add these to taste, as needed) and stir with a wooden spatula to break the meat into smaller pieces
Add the milk and wine, and bring it to simmer
Add the oregano, and leave it so simmer for 1 hour 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
For the Bechamel
While the bolognese simmers, melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat to begin making the bechamel
Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula
Then whisk in the milk steadily, let cook for one minute
Add in the salt and nutmeg, and then remove from heat
After it has cooled for 15 mins, add in the ricotta cheese
Add in more salt as needed
For the assembly
Heat your oven to 190 C (375 F , Gas mark 5)
Prepare your lasagna noodles according to the brand you’re using. I used Rummo, and it didn’t need to be cooked before assembling the lasagna.
Brush your lasagna pan (usually 9 by 13 inch, in my case I’m using two 6 by 11 inch pans) with olive oil
Spread some béchamel on the bottom of the pan and top with a layer of noodles, with as little overlap as possible
Spread another layer of béchamel over the noodles
Then spread some bolognese on top
Dust some parmesan cheese over
Add another layer of noodles and repeat this layering process until you get to the top of your pan. You should have a layer of the noodles at the top
Then top this final layer of noodles with the remaining béchamel, and the remaining parmesan and all of the mozzarella cheese
Baking
Bake uncovered for 35 - 40 mins
Let it cool for at least 20 mins.
Slice and serve (heat up after serving as needed