Lasagna Bolognese

When I was growing up - I went through a phase where all I wanted to eat was lasagna.  To say that Garfield was my spirit animal at the time was an understatement (however, he may still be my spirit animal, lol).

I asked for her lasagna for all kinds of celebrations and special occasions.  And my Mom was totally willing to oblige.  You da best Mom!!

And I never could make it quite the same as her.  And so - I've been hunting around for different recipes that I could call my own that I wanted to eat over and over again.

So when Michelle over at the Brown Eyed Baker posted this Lasagna Bolognese recipe after the meat sauce recipe, I knew it would be something special.

Yes - I'm pretty much obsessed with Michelle's blog - literally everything I've ever made from her has been a triumph and so - I have a giant foodie crush on Michelle's genius foodie brain.

A little more complicated than a lasagna with ricotta or cottage cheese, we're going to start this lasagna with a béchamel sauce.

It's VERY easy to make!

Start out by melting butter in a small/medium pot.

Add in flour and whisk into the melted butter.

Allow the roux (which this is now) to cook for a couple of minutes, until it's kind of golden.  Believe me - when you cook a roux for a few minutes, it changes the flavour of the sauce exponentially.

Next, gradually stir in the milk.  You don't want to pour it all in at once, you want to add about 1/2 a cup at a time and whisk until it becomes a paste, then add more milk, whisk to paste, and so on.  Then you want it to simmer a few minutes until it's nice and thick.

Season with salt and pepper and stir in the provolone.

Now that you have your béchamel sauce ready, you're going to need about 5 cups of meat sauce, about 12 cooked lasagna noodles, and grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese. 

First, throw down one cup of meat sauce.  The three lasagna noodles.

Then more meat sauce.

Then some béchamel sauce.

Then mozzarella cheese.

Then parmesan cheese.

And continue this way for two more layers.

Then, the last layer of noodles goes down, with the last of the béchamel sauce.

Finish with the last of the mozzarella cheese (maybe a little extra if you want!) and the last of the parmesan.

The whole pan gets covered with aluminum foil and baked for an hour.  Then the foil comes off and it gets baked for another 20 minutes or so until the top becomes golden.

Let it stand, then cut and serve it!

Of course - a Caesar salad is usually best with lasagna as far as I'm concerned.  But also think having it with The Bread, is one of the best ideas.

Now, there are a couple things you should know.  Firstly - those pieces in the picture were way too small.  When you cut your lasagna, be more generous.

Secondly.  This was just as amazing leftover as it was on the first day.  Which is usually not the case.  Usually lasagna IMPROVES the next day.  This is the first time I've ever had lasagna that was perfection on the FIRST DAY it was made.

Lastly - you can make this in advance and then freeze it for a quick weeknight meal.  I have done it and it comes out beautifully even after its frozen.  Just make sure you wrap it really well.

I made this with standard run of the mill dry lasagna noodles that were cooked according to package directions.  But Michelle recommends using fresh pasta sheets - either homemade or store bought.  I am beyond excited to make this again (very soon) with fresh homemade pasta!  You should know that although Michelle's instructions are for the (fresh) pasta sheets, I used the same cooking instructions for the standard dried pasta.

I really hope that this makes it into your lasagna rotation - it is SO good and my favorite! (only second to my Mom's Seafood Lasagna)

When I do get around to making this again using fresh pasta I'll do a little update with my thoughts.

Lasagna Bolognese

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded provolone cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

5 cups meat sauce

12 - 14 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

1 cup grate Parmesan cheese (divided)

1. In a medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is golden brown and smells nutty. 
2. Add in the milk, 1/2 cup at a time whisking until combined (it should become thick and pasty after the first few additions).  After all the milk has been added, heat through until simmering and cook until thickened, whisking constantly.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1 cup of provolone cheese, a handful at a time until it's melted.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the salt and pepper.  Set aside and allow to cool until room temperature.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
5. After the béchamel has cooled, start to assemble the lasagna.
6. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
7. Place 3 noodles in a single layer on top of the sauce.  Spread 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce over the noodles.  Drizzle 1/4 of the béchamel sauce over the meat sauce and gently spread it around.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese over top and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
8. Start the next layer by placing 3 noodles in a single layer on top of the cheese.  Spread 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce over the noodles.  Drizzle 1/4 of the béchamel sauce over the meat sauce and gently spread it around.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese over top and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
9. Start the next layer by placing 3 noodles in a single layer on top of the cheese.  Spread 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce over the noodles.  Drizzle 1/4 of the béchamel sauce over the meat sauce and gently spread it around.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese over top and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
10. Start the final layer by placing 3 noodles in a single layer on top of the cheese.  Drizzle the remaining béchamel sauce over the noodles and spread it out to cover the noodles completely.  Then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese overtop.
11. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover (spray side down) the lasagna.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes, until the top is golden.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Note:  Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.  

Note:  The lasagna can be prepped, covered, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking to serve.

Note:  The lasagna can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Note:  If the lasagna is cold, add an additional 15 - 30 minutes to the covered baking time, making sure it is heated the whole way through before removing the foil for the final bake time.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

The Most Amazing Meat Sauce

I want to say that in my old age, I've become incredibly finicky about pasta sauce.  But the truth is that I've always been sort of finicky about pasta sauce.  I prefer cream sauces - sauces that are rich and stick to pasta like a warm, happy coat.

The other thing is that sometimes I find the meat sauce in lasagna too runny and it kind of grosses me out.

Until I met THIS meat sauce and my life was changed.  It's thick and rich and meaty and is amazing in lasagna and on a bed of bigoli pasta too.

It takes some time, so it's a great project for an afternoon - or an evening - that you'll be tucked into your house in your jammies.  Also - it freezes BEAUTIFULLY, so you can make a batch and use it right away, or freeze it for later on.

I actually made this ages and AGES ago for the first time - but totally forgot to take pictures to share with you and decided to hang on to it.  I think though, I've had totally writer's block, because THIS recipe was always the one I wanted to share with you "next" and I never got to do it.  Good thing I like to have some in the freezer "just in case".

The list of ingredients in actually fairly short.

Heat the oil in a large pot or ceramic baking dish.

Add the beef and pork.  (the original recipe calls for beef, pork, and veal - but I can't always get veal)

Once the meat is browned, add the onions.

Then the garlic.

The add the basil.  It looks like a LOT, but just stay with me.

Then the salt and pepper are next.

Stir in the red wine and cook until it's fairly evaporated.

Then add the crushed tomatoes.

And the tomato puree.

This is what the sauce looks like when you start out.

And this is what it looks like after three hours of simmering and stirring.  You don't need to pay TOO much attention to it, but it does need to be stirred so it doesn't burn.

And then after is sits in the fridge overnight.

It's kind of beautiful isn't it.

After it was done, I portioned out two heavy duty freezer bags with 5 cups each (the amazing lasagna bolognese that I LOVE uses 5 cups).  I had about two cups left over, so I portioned out about two 3/4 servings to have for supper over a couple of nights.  Needless to say - it make a LOT.

The first time I made this, I couldn't buy tomato puree, so I had to improvise.  But now - for whatever reason (I'm NOT complaining) - the grocery stores have suddenly started carrying it - even here in my little border city.  It'll probably be labelled as "strained tomatoes".  BUT - if you can't find tomato puree to purchase, you can improvise with this recipe.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as I do!