White Lasagna Lasagna Bechamel Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the sliced mushrooms and leeks until limp. Remove from the vegetables from the skillet and set aside.
• 2. Cut the bacon slices into small pieces by slicing crosswise at 1/4 inch intervals. In the still warm skillet, cook the bacon slowly, over medium low heat. Allow much of the fat to render out of the bacon as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Do not cook too fast or the bacon will become hard. Remove the bacon pieces from the fat and drain on paper towels.
• 3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to remove all lumps. Allow the flour to cook in the butter for about 3 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add the milk. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Do not use too high a heat or the sauce will scorch. Season with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When the sauce is thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, remove from the heat.
• 4. In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, spinach, eggs and pesto sauce.
• 5. In a rectangular glass baking dish, do the following layers (from bottom to top): -thin layer of sauce (bottom) -layer of noodles -optionally, another thin layer of sauce -optionally, another layer of noodles (at this point you should have used only 1/3 of the sauce) -the ricotta-spinach mixture -layer of noodles -layer of sauce -the leek and mushroom layer -the bacon (or other meat, poultry or fish) -layer of noodles -the remaining sauce -the shredded mozzarella -the grated parmesan (top)
• 6. Bake uncovered in a 350F oven for 1 hour or until the noodles are soft and the top is golden brown. The lasagna is best if covered with foil kept in the oven (turned off)for another 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, breaking it into crumbles; drain. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon and seasonings. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan; stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese; set aside. , Pour half the meat sauce into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with half the lasagna noodles and remaining meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles. Pour white sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. , Cover and bake at 400° until bubbly and noodles are tender, 40 minutes. If desired, uncover and broil 5-6 inches from heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley as desired.

Steps:

• Meat Sauce: Brown ground meat until no longer pink. Drain off fat, if any, and add the white wine. Cook, stirring bits up from the bottom, until the wine has evaporated. Add spaghetti sauce, bring to a simmer, move to back burner, turn heat to lowest setting, cover.
• Bechamel Sauce: In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk flour into butter and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, continuing to whisk until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring water to a boil and prepare dry noodles according to package directions. If using no-boil noodles, take boiling water off heat, add noodles, cover and let sit for 5 minutes before assembling lasagna. I left the no-boil noodles in the hot water during assembly, using tongs to grab, drain and layer noodles as I went.
• Assembly: Use 8x8, 7x11 or similar sized pan. Line bottom of pan with noodles, add about 1/2 cup of meat sauce, then layer about 1/2 cup of bechamel sauce on top. Repeat these layers until all the sauces are used up. Sprinkle the top layer of bechamel with parmesan cheese. Don't fret if there are leftover noodles.
• Bake 40 - 50 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Steps:

• Prepare meat sauce: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground sirloin and sausage; cook and stir until browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Add olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add onion and salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper; stir until well combined. Stir in cooked meat and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in basil and parsley.
• While sauce is simmering prepare bechamel: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and whisk in ricotta until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes.
• At the same time, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook 12 lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spoon 1/2 cup meat sauce into the bottom of the prepared dish. Place 4 noodles across sauce. Spoon 1/3 of remaining meat sauce over noodles. Add 1/2 of the bechamel sauce, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers once more. Top with remaining 4 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with additional fresh basil leaves.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy-bottom, medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes; do not let roux brown.
• Whisking constantly, add about 2 tablespoons hot milk to saucepan.
• Pour half of the remaining hot milk into the saucepan in small increments, whisking the mixture constantly, until a smooth paste forms.
• Whisk remaining milk into pan; add nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape bottom and sides, until sauce is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes; if any lumps form, stir sauce rapidly with a whisk. Season with pepper; remove from heat. Let sauce stand until lukewarm, about 30 minutes, before assembling lasagna.