Mexican tacos with different fillings

Lasagna alla bolognese, the original recipe.

What is lasagna?

Lasagna is a typical dish of Italian cuisine, it is nothing more than a series of rectangular pasta sheets, based on egg or durum wheat, boiled, then arranged in layers in a pan or a baking dish, alternating with a filling, which may vary according to regional uses. The traditional recipe calls for meat sauce ragù and béchamel. 

lasagna moreover is considered a Sunday lunch dish with the family.

It is also a typical recipe of traditional Italian cuisine, a true symbol of Italian, even though each region prepares it in its own way. 

It first appears in the culinary arts of ancient Rome. The word lasagna comes from the Latin word "lasanum" which means "cooking pot". The earliest record of this dish for Italians dates back to 1390. It reached its height of popularity in America during the late 1960s and 1970s with many variations on the theme appearing on restaurant menus. 

Today in this article we will present the recipe for lasagna bolognese and in another blog, you will find the keto lasagna for people who follow the keto diet. Thus follow the steps in order to get good results. 

• Preparation: 120 min

• Cooking: about 45 min

• Serving: 8 persons

• Origin: Italy

Now let's go to the recipe: 

Lasagna: what are the ingredients?

- Here we will present the ingredients of the pasta and the ingredients of ragu.

Let's start with the pasta.

You will need:

• 400 g of white flour

• 2 eggs

• 250 g of spinach ( if you want the pasta in its normal color you can do it without spinach)

How to prepare the lasagna pasta?

Here's how to proceed to make the pasta:

• Mix the flour, eggs, and spinach that you previously boiled and sieved.

• Roll out the dough to a thin sheet, to be cut into large squares.

• Put a pot on the stove full of water to bring to a boil, then boil the sheets and let them dry on a cloth.

Lasagna: what are the ingredients for the ragù sauce and béchamel? 

.Now let's proceed with the filling, ragù, and béchamel. 

1. Let's start with the ragù.

 You need the following ingredients:

• 300 g of coarsely ground beef pulp

• 50 g onion

• 50 g of pork belly

• 50 g of the celery stick

• 50 g of carrot

• 300 g of tomato puree 

• half a glass of whole milk

• broth

• olive oil or butter

• salt and pepper

Here is the procedure:

• Cut the bacon into cubes, chop it and fry it.

• Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 50 grams of butter, chopped celery, carrot, and onion, and sauté over low heat.

• Now add the minced meat and brown.

• Then add the tomato puree, cover, and stew for around two hours, steadily add a few broths. 

• At last, add the milk, salt, and pepper to adjust the acidity.

2. Now let's prepare the béchamel. 

- You need these ingredients: 

• 100 g of flour

• 100 g of butter

• 1 liter of fresh whole milk

• Salt and nutmeg

- Here's how to prepare it:

• In a saucepan over low heat melt the butter. 

• Add the flour and mix with a whisk. 

• Cook until golden then add milk, salt, and nutmeg.

Lasagna: how to cook it?

Now it's time to assemble the various preparations:

1. Butter a pan or a baking dish.

2. line it with a layer of pasta.

3. Add a layer of meat sauce, one of béchamel, and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

4. Start again with a layer of pasta, then ragù, then béchamel, until you almost reach the top of the pan.

5. Make sure that the last layer is béchamel, add some flakes of butter. 

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 minutes. Don't overcook your lasagna. To prevent it from cooking too much on the surface and not at all in the center, halfway through cooking cover them with silver paper.

7. Check the surface: when it is golden, you can take it out of the oven. 

How to serve the lasagna?

• Serve the lasagna as a lunch meal. 

• It is preferable that the lasagna pasta should be left to rest. It`s better not to eat it eating fresh out of the oven, it tastes better the next day!

Tips!

1. If you want to make the pasta at home, roll it out rather thinly and boil it in water with a bit of oil to prevent it from sticking to the other sheets, or boil one sheet at a time and then once drained put it in cold water.

2. If you buy fresh egg pasta, the procedure is the same as homemade pasta. If you buy packaged and dried sheets then you must absolutely season them well, leaving not even a corner uncovered.

3. Don't eat it right away because it tastes better the next day!

Enjoy your meal!

Good appetite 

😀