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A Speciality: Baked Lasagna

Baked Lasagna
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Baked Lasagna

A Speciality: Baked Lasagna

  • Author: Carrie Pacini
  • Category: Italian Inspired

Description

Baked Lasagna is one of my absolute favorite dishes.

There are very few places in the United States that make a baked lasagna correctly. Every region in Italy has a version of it but there’s also a technique involved that makes a baked lasagna irresistible.

This baked lasagne is made with a meat sauce mixed with béchamel and layered with cheeses that include: Fontina, Mozzarella di Bufala (sliced and patted dried), and Parmigiano.

It’s a melt in your mouth sort of creamy meal. Which is exactly how a baked lasagna should feel.

If you’ve never made fresh pasta sheets before then I urge you to buy the fresh ones to start with.

Get the sauces and the layering technique down first. Then try making your own pasta next time so you have some familiarity with this baked lasagna.


Ingredients

Scale

Red Sauce:
1 Recipe of Bolognese Meat Sauce

Cheeses for layering the baked lasagna:
1/2 lb of Fontina Cheese (Ask for the fontina with a soft texture -don’t purchase the aged hard fontina)
1/2 lb of Mozzarella di Bufala (pat dry with paper towels to get rid of the moisture, this gives it more flavor)
1 cup of Parmigiano Cheese (I like Reggiano)

Pasta Recommendations:
1 lb of Fresh Lasagna Pasta Sheets or 1 Recipe (see below) of Egg Pasta Sheets made by hand (I use a pasta machine)

Note: To purchase fresh Lasagna sheets you can find them in the refrigerated cheese section at the following stores: Central Market, Wholefoods, and HEB.

You can use the dried pasta for a baked lasagna but it will be thicker. I like thinner sheets. That’s why I prefer making them myself. If I am in a pinch I buy the fresh sheets located in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

Bechamel Sauce Recipe Ingredients:
3 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup parmesan grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

1. Make the meat sauce and then set aside.

2. Butter a large rectangle or square shallow baking dish

3. Make the béchamel sauce by heating up the milk in a sauce pan with the bay leaf. Next add the butter and whisk. Next add the flour and continue to whisk while bringing the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture is thick like a gravy and smooth whisk in the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and 1 tsp of nutmeg. Set aside.

4. Now mix in your bechamel with the meat sauce. Only mix enough of the bechamel until it becomes a light red sort of orange color.

5. Next make your egg pasta (recipe noted below) Or use 1lb of store bought fresh pasta.

6. If you are making your own egg pasta you will need to boil it in water for 1 minute (see egg pasta directions below). If you are using store bought fresh pasta you can use it directly without boiling it.

Assembling the Lasagna

Note: Set oven to bake at 375 Degrees

Now to assemble the baked lasagna you will need the following ready to go: baking dish, meat sauce mixed with bechamel, Fontina Cheese, Parmigiano and Mozzarella di Bufala all sliced, and your pasta sheets.

1. Spread one large spoonful of the sauce over the bottom of the dish.

2. Arrange a layer of pasta sheets to cover the dish cutting with a knife so that it fits the space.

3. Cover with another layer of sauce then a few slices of fontina spread out and sprinkle with parmigiano.

Technique Tip: When layering a baked lasagna only put a thin layer of the sauce. We don’t want the pasta sheets to be swimming in the sauce, just make sure they are all covered lightly.

4. Next arrange another layer of the pasta sheets and cover with a light layer of sauce. Then cover with a few slices of Mozzarella di Bufala spread out and sprinkle with parmigiano cheese.

5. Cover with another layer of pasta sheets and spread a thin layer of sauce and repeat with the fontina cheese in step 3.

6. Continue with step 3 and 4 until you are out of room or run out.

7. Make sure the very last layer is pasta sealing it all in. Sprinkle the top with parmigiano cheese.

8. Bake at 375 degrees in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the top is a nice light brown. Let it set for 5 minutes before serving. Or you can freeze it for another day.

Serve directly from the baking dish cutting into squares.

If you decide to make your own pasta here is a recipe

Handmade Egg Pasta Recipe:

You will need: 3 Eggs, 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1 tsp of salt.

1. Place the flour in the center of a clean smooth surface and make a well in the middle. Bread the eggs into the well and add a touch of salt.

2. With a fork start beating the eggs while bringing the flour into the center of the well.

3. As the paste starts to thicken start to use your hands to make a mass ball.

4. If it is sticking to your hands add a bit more flour. Set the dough aside and let it rest. Meanwhile clean your work surface and hands.

5. With a pasta machine set the rollers at their widest setting (1), and pull off a piece of dough about the size of a lemon.

6. Feed the dough through the rollers folding it in half end to end and feed it through about 6 to 7 times.

7. It it starts to stick to the machine then dust with flour.

8. Lay each layer out onto a clean surface or a dish towel and repeat with the remaining dough.

9. Adjust the machine to the next line setting 2 and feeding the sheets through it again. You will continue this process with the different settings for your desired thickness. For lasagna I like to go to setting 7.

10. If the strips get too long to manage you cut them into shorter strips (usually happens around the 5th setting).

11. When you are done rolling the sheets you will need to boil them for a minute and cool them down in water for use.

12. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and begin adding a few sheets to boil for just a minute and then take them out and put into a bowl of cold water. Once you have the first round of them cool you can start the layering process of the baked lasagna.


Notes

You can make this baked lasagna ahead of time and freeze it. I’ve made several baked lasagna trays at one time and used them throughout the month for gatherings and dinner parties.

Keywords: Meals, Italian Dishes, Baked Lasagna

 

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11 Comments

  • Reply
    Simply Tia
    February 12, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    How rich and elegant does this lasagna look?! I love the beautiful photo!

  • Reply
    Judy
    February 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    That looks amazing. And you describe the technique perfectly too! Definitely guilty of being someone who wants to spoon way too much sauce over the sheets, but good advice!

  • Reply
    sara
    February 13, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Looks amazing! I love homemade lasagna, it’s just so tasty! :)

  • Reply
    Carrie Pacini
    February 22, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    @sara Thanks it is such a tasty lasagna!

  • Reply
    Amber
    March 4, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Sounds great but you left out one major thing, what temp does the oven need to be at?

  • Reply
    Carrie Pacini
    March 13, 2012 at 9:24 am

    @Amber it’s amazing how you try to get every detail in but you leave something major out like the temperature!

    Thanks for commenting on that, I’ve updated the post. It’s 375 degrees :)

  • Reply
    Amira
    September 2, 2012 at 10:33 am

    this is the only lasagna I make now! only thing is – the first time I made it I didn’t put sauce on the top layer of pasta, just the cheese like you suggested and it came out pretty dry and crunchy on the top (with store bought lasagna sheets) next time I put some sauce on top then the parmigiana and it was perfect! :)

  • Reply
    L Theis
    April 18, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    Love your page! Can you tell me is there much difference in the nutrition between regular lasagna pasta and spinach lasagna pasta?

    • Reply
      Carrie Pacini
      May 14, 2016 at 1:53 pm

      Hi There, I don’t know the exact nutrition but I know I enjoy both styles.

  • Reply
    Malisa Barclay
    December 12, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    Hi Carrie,

    Do you ever use Ricotta cheese in your lasagna recipe?

    • Reply
      Carrie Pacini
      December 13, 2018 at 8:31 am

      Hi Malisa, I don’t use Ricotta but I know plenty of people who do. You can swap out the Béchamel and use Ricotta if that is what you prefer in your lasagna :)

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