Making a lasagne from scratch

I make lasagne regularly, but I don't make the ragu on the same day. I make a massive quantity of Delia Smith's Ragu Bolognese, have some with spaghetti that day and freeze the rest. Then on the day I make the lasagne I only have to do the bechamel, put it together and pop it in the oven, takes less than an hour, and makes at least two meals for our family of three.
I love lasagne! Home made is much nicer.

I do a one-pot version that takes a fraction of the time and everyone loves. I’m sure puritans would be shocked but I don’t have time or inclination for the whole thing. If I want a ‘proper’ lasagne I buy a Cook version or a Charlie Bigham!

It always takes me forever to male lasagne. I've found that making the bolognaise a day or two earlier then the bechemele and finally building it into a lasagne makes it more manageable.
It's a faff but is great for feeding a crowd with a salad and garlic bread mmmmmm

I think theres probably a lot of substandard lasagnes being eaten to be fair given how quickly some of these are being put together.

I agree that good dried pasta is excellent - I also love lasagne verde. I make pasta because my dad did, I love doing it, and we keep chickens so always have a lot of eggs to use.

I love homemade pasta, and much prefer it for some dishes, but often use dried pasta for quick weekday stuff.

We make it once a week from scratch and only takes about an hour, including 40 minutes in the oven. My kids are fussy though so it's very simple: bolognese is frozen diced onion, mince, passata and beef stock. Very quick to fry, then while it's simmering I make the white sauce - once when DH made it he forgot to add butter (!), the kids preferred it (?!) so now I literally add cornflour and milk to a saucepan, whisk a bit, and it's done in 10 minutes. We don't even add any cheese. I think it tastes pretty bland, but the kids like it 🤷‍♀️
DH used to do the delia recipe which admittedly tasted delicious, but it would take him 4 hours and generally ruin all our plans for the weekend. It didn't even have any different ingredients, he just cooked everything more slowly and made a big production over it.

This! I love lasagna but it’s a relatively quick thing to throw together!

I suppose it technically takes me about three hours but that's because I like the mince to simmer and soften - I'm not actually in the kitchen the whole time! Bechemal takes ten mins max and I buy grated parmesan and cheddar from Lidl. The time spent actually putting together the ingredients etc is about 20mins in total, then cooking time. No way does it take 2.5 hours! I wouldn't bother if it did

I only make veggie ones, and I'm fussy about peeling tomatoes and peppers, slow cooking onions and all that. Then there's a vegan bechamel to make if the vegan's home, so double the assembly time. No, I am bloody not making a vegan one for everybody. It's about the taste. I would say it takes about 90 minutes, and that's because I leave the dairy elements until I can set the vegan dish aside to avoid cross- contamination.
Definitely worth it, but I have to feel up to the job. I wouldn't bother doing a half-arsed version. I could buy that in or get someone else to make a sub-par one.

I use a cheese sauce instead of bechamel 👌

Mine takes longer but most of that is leaving it to simmer away unattended. I love the flavour of a long, slow cook. I also make my own pasta but have a kitchen aid so its pretty easy. I always do a couple for the freezer so it definitely feels worth it. The jars taste disgusting.

I can't see the point in making the pasta from scratch. Dried pasta sheets are excellent. I buy the green ones (getting harder to find).

So many allergies/intolerances in this house, I have no option but to make it from scratch. I do get away with pre-made GF pasta sheets though.

I usually make a big batch of bolognaise & make up a couple at a time (freeze one or both before final cook) whilst still having some left to convert into a chilli or cottage pie too.
I don’t bother measuring anything for the white sauce, couple of big spoons of gf flour, big knob of butter. Add the (lacto free) milk until the thickness seems right. Chop up the cheese to melt in it (faster than grating & no different once melted) sprinkle of grated over the top. I’ve got much quicker over the years. But still a labour of love. I agree if you can find a really good shop bought one (that intolerances allow) then go for that.

I don't eat lasagna but like making it and family loves it. I make loads so prep can take longer, but once you have your meat and sauce simmering not much else to do. Bechamel sauce is pretty quick too. I always put everything in fridge overnight. Meat sauce is always better that way. And layer up next day. When everything is really cold it stops it all going to mush. Either freeze at that stage in individual tubs for cooking or cook then portion up afterwards. Means you can have plenty of meals in freezer for easy dinners

Explain

Me too. People always use it on MN as an example of something that takes ages but I don’t really get it.

A rushed, or 'quick' béchamel always tastes too powdery to me. I find that although you can make a quick white sauce that has the right kind of look and texture, a 'proper' béchamel sauce really needs time to lose the floury-ness in the background and balance properly. But again, I love cooking, so getting it right and spending time over it suits me fine.

My béchamel takes the best part of an hour, as I also leave it cool slightly before using it, but that's when I make the pasta and cook the ragu and so on, so it's all happening together for much of the time.

YANBU

They're a labour of love and a ball ache.

The tomato sauce is, the "creamy" sauce isn't. https://www.dolmio.co.uk/products/lasagne/dolmio-lasagne-creamy-white-sauce-jar

I buy ready made lasagna and serve it with fresh vegetables or salad to make it slightly healthier.

The only thing I make from scratch is lasagne. It takes 45 mins to prep then 30 in the oven. I think mine is quite basic using an American type recipe.

I always make double bolognese and freeze a portion to use in lasagna. So on the day of cooking I just defrost the meat sauce and make the bechamel which I actually find quite straightforward, thanks to a Mac and cheese loving toddler. So I can put it together on about 20-30 min.

I don't understand. I buy block butter. No additives at all.

Yep, it takes ages. It takes more effort than a roast dinner, so I don't make it very often.

I tend to double the amount of bechemel sauce needed as it never seems enough!

But it's so good!