Luxurious Lasagne Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Steps:

• Drain soaked mushrooms and then mince. Reserve soaking liquid but strain it through a cheesecloth lined sieve. First make the cream sauce: Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy stainless saucepan. When foaming subsides, add the flour and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat. Whisk in the reserved mushroom juices and heavy cream and whisk until smooth. Simmer 5 minutes or until velvety and season to taste with salt pepper and nutmeg. Reserve until later. Now make the filling: In a large skillet heat remaining 3 tablespoons of butter along with the olive oil. Add the fresh mushrooms and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the minced soaked mushrooms, prosciutto and saute a moment. Add the wine and evaporate for a minute or two. Lower the heat and cook, covered until the mushrooms are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Cut the pasta sheets into strips 3 to 4 inches wide and long enough to fit into your gratin or baking dish. Boil a few sheets at a time until 3/4 done. Drain and cool on clean cloths. To assemble: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a gratin dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne. Top with 1/4 of cream sauce, 1/4 of Parmesan and 1/3 of mushroom mix. Continue with pasta, sauce, cheese, mushrooms for 2 more layers, finishing with a sheet of pasta. Drizzle any liquid left in mushroom pan over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. For the meat sauce, heat the butter in a large casserole dish. Scatter in the pancetta and sizzle gently for 5 mins until just starting to brown, then add the onion and carrot and soften in the pancetta fat for a few mins. Stir in the meat. At first it will look as if it's just steaming, but persevere and the juices will evaporate and the meat will sizzle and start to brown - this will take around 15 mins. When the beef is brown, add the garlic, bay leaf, oregano and some pepper and cook for 5 mins, then add the ketchup and cook to a paste. Season, pour over the wine and the passata, give everything a stir, bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the oven for 2 hrs, stirring occasionally until the meat is really tender. The sauce can be prepared up to three days ahead or frozen for three months.
• For the white sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan with the dried mushrooms, bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave the mushrooms to soak for 20 mins. Drain the mushrooms over a bowl, pressing down to release all the milk. Reserve the milk, roughly chop the mushrooms and set aside. Heat the butter in a large, shallow pan until it starts to turn a nutty brown. Add the mushrooms and a bay leaf, and sizzle for a few mins. Scatter the flour over the mushrooms and cook until it's a sticky paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring between each addition, until you have a thick sauce. Add the parmesan rinds if you have them, then simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, lift out the bay leaf and any rinds, then stir in the mascarpone and a third of the parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and grate in some nutmeg.
• Rub oil onto the base and sides of a large ceramic baking dish. Put a layer of lasagne sheets on the base, then a layer of the meat sauce, followed by a drizzle of mushroom sauce, and then tear and scatter over the mozzarella. Repeat until you have used all the pasta and meat sauce and top with a final layer of pasta. Finish with a thick layer of mushroom sauce and sprinkle with a layer of parmesan, reserving a handful. Scatter the remaining parmesan over a non-stick baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the lasagne in the oven for 40-45 mins or until bubbling and golden brown. For the last 15 mins, put the parmesan tray in the oven on a higher shelf and cook until brown and crisp. Remove both from the oven and leave for 10 mins. Cut the lasagne into squares and let it sit for another 10 mins before serving to keep the layers defined and help it cool. Break the crispy parmesan into shards and serve in a side dish to scatter over the lasagne.

Steps:

• Heat up a big saucepan and add the olive oil. Sweat the onion, celery, carrot and garlic for around five minutes over a medium heat.
• Heat a frying pan up until very hot and cook the seasoned beef, without any oil, in batches. Then add the beef to the saucepan.
• The point of cooking the beef in batches is to get a good colour on it because this adds more flavour.
• When all the beef is in the saucepan, turn up the heat and add the wine.
• Cook until the wine has all been absorbed and then add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, bay leaf and oregano. Season and simmer for 30 minutes or until rich and tasty.
• Preheat a conventional oven to 180ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 160ºC.
• Heat a griddle pan. Season the courgettes and lightly chargrill or sear on each side, then leave on a plate until assembling time. Drain the peppers and also add to the plate.
• For the cheese sauce: heat the milk up gently with a good grating of nutmeg, some salt and pepper. Mix the cornflour with 50ml of the milk and whisk back into the milk, continuing to cook for two to three minutes until thickened.
• Add the mustard and half the cheese. Check the seasoning and set aside.
• Now for the fun part: Take a baking dish and start layering up the ingredients. Start with a layer of meat, then peppers, then meat, then courgettes, then meat, then pasta and finally cheese sauce.
• Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbling.