This video covers the technique of making two kinds of classic lasagna, one with tomato meat sauce and one with vegetables, in both cases with mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta cheese and béchamel sauce.
The quantities presented in this video were enough to make several large lasagnas. As lasagna making is involved and logistically intense, I make several at one time for the family and freeze the rest. For those of you who don’t necessarily want to make lasagna on an industrial scale, below is a list of ingredients to make one large lasagna, in a pan about 14 inches by 10 inches. Just try to use a pan that is from 3 to 4 inches deep. You can use a shallower pan, but the finished product won’t be as dramatic.
For the béchamel sauce:
– 4 tablespoons white flour (Wondra brand, an instant, pre-cooked flour works best)
– 4 tablespoons (¼ cup or ½ stick) butter
– 1 quart whole milk (if you’re using oven-ready lasagna sheets, use 2 quarts to produce a very liquid sauce)
– 1 tablespoon salt, max (add half tablespoon first, then more a bit at a time until you like the result; the sauce should be flavorful but not salty)
– ½ whole nutmeg, grated
– 1 package lasagna noodles – either traditional (16 oz.) or oven-ready (9 to 10 oz.)
– 4 cups of prepared meat sauce (a tomato-based sauce made with ground beef, pork and/or veal) (I will post a video making my meat sauce as soon as I consume the four gallon-sized bags of meat sauce currently in my freezer)
For the ricotta cheese layer (in the video I didn’t show how I prepared this) — mix together thoroughly in large bowl:
– 28 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese (one large container and half of another one — use the leftover to make great ricotta-cheese omelettes)
– one egg, beaten
– 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
– ½ whole nutmeg, grated
– Salt, to taste
For the cheese layers:
– 2 lbs. fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
– 1 lb. (16 oz.) parmesan cheese, grated
For the vegetable version, replace the meat-sauce layer with one or more layers of sautéed vegetables such as zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, etc. Sauté in a little olive oil with salt, pepper and thyme until tender (but not mushy!).
Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for one hour. Let stand, loosely covered with aluminum foil, at least 40 minutes before serving.