Lasagne with ragù is a classic in Italian cuisine. They are ideal for a Sunday lunch with your family or for dinner with friends, if you want to impress them with a true Italian meal. Assembling the lasagne is very quick and easy, but your attention (and time) will have to go onto three main ingredients:
- The ragù: preparing ragù takes some time (it has to cook for 3 hours), but you can prepare it the day before, it will taste even better! My recipe for ragù is available here.
- The besciamella (white or bechamel) sauce, which has to be carefully prepared in order to obtain a smooth sauce.
- Finally, the pasta sheets (I normally use Barilla or Waitrose pasta sheets).
The preparation time of the lasagne excludes the preparation time for the ragù. Also, the number of pasta sheets is indicative, as you can use more or less, depending on how many layers you want to have. I used a Pyrex rectangular glass baking casserole (35x23cm), assembling a total of 5 layers.
Lasagne with ragù
Ingredients
Besciamella (white or bechamel sauce)
Instructions
Ragù sauce
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First of all, prepare the ragù, following my recipe at https://thepotatognocchiclub.com/index.php/recipes/ragu/.
Besciamella (white or bechamel sauce)
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Prepare the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and stir continuously until you form a paste, which is called a roux. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute.
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Gradually add the milk into the roux, stirring continuously. Cook at low heat for 5-7 minutes, continuing stirring, until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg, to taste.
Assembling the lasagne
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Pre-heat oven at 180°C (fan).
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Start assembling the ingredients in your baking tray. Pour on the bottom of your tray two tablespoons of white sauce, then put a layer of lasagna pasta sheets down. Layer on 2-3 tbsp of the ragù sauce, then 2-3 tbsp of the white sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmiggiano cheese. Then repeat.
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Top with a final layer of pasta sheets, ragù sauce, and white sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmiggiano cheese. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Switch to grill mode in the last 5 minutes.
