Lasagne
Ground Beef
ground beef (you can sub ground chicken as well)
diced onions
garlic (either paste or minced)
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
paprika powder
dried thyme
dried oregano
dried basil
Add a few tablespoons of oil to a pot, on medium-high heat, fry diced onions.
When onions are dark pink, add garlic paste or minced garlic, fry for a minute. Add ground beef and sauté.
Add the herbs and spices and cook.
If it starts to stick to the pot, add a bit of water. Saute until meat is browned.
Spinach/Ricotta
Diced onions
Minced garlic
Frozen spinach (you can use fresh as well)
Salt
Black Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Add a few teaspoons of oil to a pot, on medium-high heat, fry diced onions. When onions are dark pink, add garlic paste or minced garlic, fry for a minute. Add spinach and sauté. Add the seasonings and fry until spinach is wilted through. Place in refrigerator to cool down.
Shred mozzarella cheese.
Once the spinach mixture has cooled, mix in ricotta cheese and three-four tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bechamel sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 litre of milk (3 cups if only making a béchamel sauce) - use at least 2% milk, I personally find that whole milk or cream is too heavy. You can do half 2% and half whole milk if you’d like to increase the creaminess.
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
In a pot, melt butter on low-medium heat, add flour and stir constantly (bring heat up to medium). When you get a nutty smell and the ingredients are well-combined, add the milk (warm milk to lukewarm before adding to roux). Stir with a whisk to prevent any lumps from forming. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Here is where you can either keep a bechamel sauce and layer it separately with a bolognese sauce (just add a prepared tomato pasta sauce to ground beef and simmer) or you can make a rose sauce out of the bechamel sauce base. This recipe uses a rose sauce to simplify things.
Rose sauce
Add a good prepared tomato pasta sauce to the béchamel sauce and let simmer, stirring to combine. It should thicken. If it is too thick, add milk to thin it out.
Boil lasagna noodles.
Take a large rectangular pan, lightly grease the bottom with oil and coat bottom of pan with several tablespoons of the rose sauce, then begin layering.
If you have a rose sauce, here is how the layers will be:
First layer: noodle, rose sauce, ground beef, mozzarella cheese
Second layer: noodle, rose sauce, ricotta cheese/spinach, light sprinkle of mozzarella cheese
Third layer: noodle, rose sauce, ground beef, mozzarella cheese
Fourth layer: noodle, rose sauce, mozzarella cheese
Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven, let it rest for about 5-8 minutes and serve.
