Making a lasagne from scratch

Maybe, when you think about it, it makes very little sense to build something up just to break it down. I wang it all in together and whisk like a mad woman.

Chop veg in the food processor. I make a white source so put milk, butter and flour in the pan and whisk until it simmers for 1 mins and it’s done.

I use a roux method too, is that what’s taking me so long?

This is a great tip thank you

I make a huge batch of ragu in the slow cooker, portion and freeze for kids swimming night and for lasange. Then it takes about 15 mins to reheat ragu, make sauce for on top, grate cheese and layer up. 30 mins to bake which allows 5 mins tidy up and 25 mins doing something else.

Lasagna is good for hiding vegetables in too if the kids are fussy. Just chop whatever you have in the fridge up super small and chuck them in the bolognaise.

You can tell my lasagna is not authentic, but I do make from scratch. I usually do a cheese (roux method) sauce though. Or sometimes a Dolmio white sauce jar. And I use dried pasta sheets from a box. Does that still count as making from scratch?? 🤔

How are people making this so fast? what is your secret? I take 90 minutes to make one, it takes ages chopping the peppers ( I put quite a few in to be fair), onion and fresh garlic before I even start cooking. The cheese sauce is the hardest part, takes me ages to make, does everyone add the milk very slowly and keep whisking or is there a quicker way of doing it?

I like to batch cook and with lasagne the maximum I can make at one time is 3 as the cheese sauce is so difficult, any tips on making in a large quantity would also be appreciated.

Italians don’t have cheddar 🤷‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️
parmesan grated over top layer of bechem l, then mozzarella torn up ( pulls away in thin strips) and distributed evenly

it needs to taste of ragu and be creamy. Why the obsession with all that cheese

chedder is for macaroni cheese…and very nice too…but Italians don’t have cheddar to put into lasagne historically.

they do sometimes add ricotta for more creaminess.

I do it in 2 parts. Make the meat sauce when I have some time one morning / evening and then freeze. Defrost and make the bechamel and assemble. It really does take a long time otherwise

It shouldn't take this long. Once you've done it 2 or 3 times, you should be able to get it done on about 1 h (from.orep to finish).

Tangerine - I heat the 750ml of milk in the microwave. Maybe for around 3 mins with a stir in the middle. I also make it in the morning, let it cool and then put it in fridge. It then goes in the oven later to heat up for 45 mins and leave for ten mins before serving. It is a faff but is great for putting aside portions in the freezer or for feeding lots of visitors.

The trick is to make a double quantity of bolognese and have spaghetti bolognese one week, then freeze half the bolognese and defrost it to go in the lasagne the next week. I'm not sure how it's taking you so long to make the bechamel, it only takes a few minutes to mix the milk in? As for grating the parmesan, you can buy it ready grated or use a food processor.

When I make ragu, I almost always need to reduce the liquid over fierce heat at end of cooking.dont be afraid to do this for all ragu, bolognaise etc…even chili con carne…it massively enhances flavours and should be dry..the Italians don’t eat wet bolognaise sauce…it coats the pasta. Pasta shouldn’t sit in a down of gravy 😂😂😂

OP, that's a lovely update. I'm so chuffed for you! It's brilliant that you're going to give it another go. It's literally the only way to improve and learn, whatever it is we're trying to achieve.

Enjoy your delicious lasagne! If I ever run out of béchamel when layering up a lasagne, I've occasionally used a thinly sliced ball of mozzarella!

I skip the béchamel entirely and just put a fuckton of mozzarella and grated Parmesan on the top (heathen that I am). I have made it the right way once - and filed that under things I am not doing again.

It takes me about 2.5 hours as well. Bachemel isn't just a roux, it needs to infuse with cloves and onion prior. It's a labour of love but I get 10 (large) portions out of it and it freezes great. Definitely a favourite, and a bottle of red whilst cooking, (obviously for the Ragu 🫣) goes down well.

Yep, this is “ delia” cheat method of bechemel and really works well,
was coming on to say this

make sure butter and milk are cold when put flour in. Whisk continuously while comes up to boil. Add more milk if need to thin down, then lower heat right down to cook through, using a wooden spoon to stir frequently to stop sticking.

its about 10 mins at most - and it’s done while ragu is cooking

it doesn’t need cheese in sauce. It’s going between layers of meat and pasta ( except top layer) and there’s enough flavour in sauce to drown flavour of cheese. It’s surplus fat and calories not needed.

i only use mozzarella and a small , single layer of grating of Parmesan on top. That’s around 3 mins work - tear mozzarella, and no grating . So goodness knows why op’s doing all this grating- that’s way too much cheese.

dont use lasagne that needs pre blanching. Buy stuff that you can just layer in dry

its the ragu that takes time. But even with doing a proper soffrito for 15 mins it’s still only 30 mins of actual prep time. Wack lid on, turn heat right down, or even wack in a low oven if you want to forget about it. It needs at least an hour plus . Ideally 2 if you’re Italian. I do it in pressure cooker to speed up cooking. Or a slow oven would work doing meat bit a day before.

yep, it’s more hassle than most pastas. But really can’t beat homemade if you’re making effort and you use the full Monty of the soffrito, plus lardons, and a good slug of red wine, bay leaves and fresh mushrooms. If you’re going to effort make it worthwhile !

I always make plenty… double the amount, batched. Then freeze rest as single portions already cooked, or another family sized one all ready for its bake. Then you get double the reward of effort.

i reckon an hours prep from scratch at very most.

It's one of my favourite meals but does take me about 2 1/2 hours but I make enough for 3 to put 2 in the freezer. I do find it exhausting though, but, it is a meal I can hide veg in. Juiced spinach, courgette and carrot can go completely undetected even very finely chopped mushrooms and tinned tomatoes can slip under the radar.

Squeamish, I am going to try Mary Berry's idea of the hot milk next time.

I can make one in about 60 mins from scratch using a pressure cooker for the bolognaise. Béchamel I can knock up in 10 mins (warm milk with onion and bay leaves to infuse while melting butter and flour together, the cook out the flour for a couple of mins).

I think 30 mins would be pushing it, but to be fair in my 60 mins it’s probably around 30 mins of effort and the rest is just letting things bubble away. I like my bolognaise well cooked and if I have time I will just let it simmer away for a couple of hours on the hob.

Also NO to cheddar cheese!!!! It has no place in a lasagna!!!

I buy fresh pasta sheets though as even I cba making my own :-)

I tend to batch cook the bolognese as I like it to have simmered for a few hours

all in one method of bechamel takes 5/10 mins

I use this recipe which I found on the packaging of a 4 pack of Napolina canned tomatoes…. But I triple the quantity for the béchamel as we prefer it. Always a big hit with kids.

I make the sauce in the afternoon/lunch break when wfh then leave it for hours. Make the béchamel (which takes ten mins) and assemble later on, which takes max 30min then the same in the oven.

But OP I would not be doing this with a toddler and baby underfoot! In fact I’d not be keen to try any new recipe alongside childcare - life is stressful enough as it is.

Sounds like you did really well in the circumstances.

https://napolina.com/recipes/traditional-lasagne/

When I’m feeling lazy, I use the frozen béchamel from Picard (you can buy it on Ocado). It’s just flour, butter and milk so no dodgy ingredients and much nicer than the jars.

Try Mary Berry's recipe using 900 g of mince. She also says to use hot milk for the bechamel sauce which really cuts down time. I make this regularly. I simmer the mince on the hob for just over an hour and the bechamel takes ten mins to make. Buy grated parmesan or similar from Lidl. Feeds four adults end four children easily. And is a meal in one.