Proper lasagna is a faff..

[BarrelOfOtters]

it is though.

I don’t meaning dumping jars of dolmio in a slow cooker. But a proper ragu and roux.

The Bolognese is the easiest dish going - takes only about 20 mins to prepare, then it cooks with no intervention bar a stir or 2 for an hour.

A decent meat ragu for Spaghetti Bolognese or Lasagne should be cooked for longer than an hour, more like three or even four.

Me too

I hope someone obliges

I make Jamie's scruffy lasagna - no white sauce to make.
You just grate cheese into the meat sauce and snap the lasagna sheets into bits and stir them in too -bake in the oven with grated cheese on top.

I tend to make it when I know I’m going to be on a conference call but not expected to participate - the ragu take time if done properly but once that’s made the rest takes minutes

I use Rachel Allen's ragu recipe for years, and previously Jamie Oliver's (one of his early books I think).

Both have a 1 hour cooking time.

I'm aware there are greatly different views on ragu methodology, ingredients & cooking time. I spent some time in Sardinia where they cooked it for a day, and yes it was exceptional.

However, both these recipes work perfectly well & the resulting dish tastes great, if I say so myself!

Don't put cheese in, it shouldn't really be there, and as you say makes it rich. Just use parmesan in the layers and on the top.

Just make one, vegan, lasagne. I made both for a big crowd and it was the vegan one that got the rave reviews.

No thanks. I have nothing against vegan food per se, but a vegan lasagne meant to replicate the classic version isn't really possible. I don't want a 'bechamel' made without proper butter and real milk, because whatever it is, it's not a bechamel, and it won't taste like a bechamel. Ditto any 'cheese' that goes near the lasagne. Vegan 'cheese' is an absolute abomination.

@EarringsandLipstick - I had a Saturday job filling cream cakes (and doing other things) in a local cafe when I was young.

I probably underestimate the faff of a piping bag if you haven’t spent 18 months of Saturdays using the bloody things
😉

@KnittedCardi

Oh I don't put cheese in the layers. Just the béchamel sauce. And on top of the lasagne of course. I still find it a bit rich - but lovely!

Lasagne and cottage pie, the biggest faffs of them all. And arguably not worth the pay off.

Oh wow! That's definitely a specialist skill. I dread to think what havoc I'd have wreaked 😂

Funnily enough I'd agree re cottage pie. I really hate making it (I don't love it as a dish either, too meaty for me). Kids love it tho.

It's not hard just time consuming, good ragu takes 3-4 hours, bechamel 20 minutes plus if making vast quantities. The layering doesn't take long and I quite enjoy it. Then 45 minutes in the oven
It's the kind of thing I do if we're at home all day or doing things out in the garden because the Ragu doesn't need much attention, just time

Not at all. Just a standard 6 foot tall 50/50 fridge freezer. Holds loads more than 'a few choc ices, a bag of chips, some meat portioned up and veg weve grown over the summer' so plenty for a couple of trays of batch cooked ragu.

I'm more baffled about fridge space. We eat hardly any fruit and veg by MN standards but the bit we do buy seems to take up half the fridge, and once we've also got the milk, meat and booze in there, it's rammed.

Isn't it just

I agree it's a faff and quite a lot of cleaning up but it's so satisfying once it's done.
Also it lasts a few days and is one of the few dishes that actually tastes as good, if not better the next day.
I love it if you're having people round or have a busy few days, it's made and all the cleaning up done ahead of time.

Make your roux in the microwave. Works every time, takes 5 minutes and it's soooo much easier. Plus it then is pretty much the same effort as a spag bol.

DH makes the white sauce for me and adds cheese to it in his lunch hour. Then I make the Ragu with minced beef and tins of tomatoes and a bit of basil. I buy fresh lasagne not the dried and that speeds up cooking time. My youngest son moved out just over 2 weeks ago to his own house. When I cook a fresh lasagne he comes over for dinner with us and I make a huge one with 1 k of mince so we have 3 large potions for dinner with garlic bread and salad then I send him home with 4 portions and leftover garlic bread for his lunches at work.

I have 2000 open jars and salad dressings. Jams and mint sauce and cranberry sauce and pickles and god knows what else. Probably mostly inedible. It’s a real problem, they take up so much space, these jars I’ll never use.

Delia’s quick way of making béchamel changed my outlook on lasagne.

A bit.

I have 2000 open jars and salad dressings. Jams and mint sauce and cranberry sauce and pickles and god knows what else. Probably mostly inedible. It’s a real problem, they take up so much space, these jars I’ll never use.

Me too. It's a constant battle. If I don't buy them I always need them. But I never want to keep cooking/eating the same thing for days or weeks on end to used them up quickly. And I hate looking at a recipe and realising I need to go shopping for one tablespoon's worth or redcurrant jelly or rose harissa or whatever. So the door and the top shelf of my fridge looks like a little mini supermarket condiments aisle.

Yes it is but I do it in my sleep now as I cook it weekly

It's time consuming but worth it. I have my ragu cooking since 8 can't wait to assemble later!

Ah, I forgot to mention the Top Shelf of Jars.

As it happens just this morning I used some gherkin pickle that I hadn't seen for a while. I have no idea how long it had been open, but the expiry date was 2021 but it looked fine and also tasted fine when I had some so it's on my lunchtime sandwich. So never say never on what will get used or what is edible.

I love making lasagne, it's a really lovely cosy task on a wet or cold weekend day!

I make it from scratch (including the pasta), but I do cheat and use a frozen soffritto mix, as I get bored by all the chopping.

I have the ragu simmering on the stove for hours, frequently topping up with a bit of red wine (both me and the ragu!). The kitchen smells lovely and rich and full of wine-y comfort.

DH makes the pasta, I make the betchamel.

We make 3 or 4 and fill the freezer.

Now it's getting a bit autumnal, I rather fancy a Lasagne Saturday.

Fish pie, on the other hand, I hate making and find it a proper faff. Fish stock, plus hard boiled eggs, plus poached fish, plus potato peeling and making mash. Just too faffy for me. And fish pie doesn't making the kitchen smell warm and wine-y. Instead the kitchen smells fishy and unpleasant.