Does your lasagne have a pasta sheet "floor"?

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Just that!

Saw a tip online saying "spread a thin layer of tomato sauce onto the bottom of the dish so the pasta doesn't stick".... 🫨

In 30 years of making lasagne I've never put a floor in & curious as to whether I've been missing out all this time 😅
(To the point I've just made the sauce and may experiment, but wondered if I've been committing a misdemeanour this whole time. Sorry Italians if I have!)

Yes. Also a small spoon of bechamel at the bottom so no sticking, then pasta floor. It means you can cook lasagne, let cook 10 mins, then slice into nice lasagne slices each rather than slop on plate.

Its how all the Italian restaurants around us do it also ( we live close to the Italian border)

Having read a few of these posts I'm moved to wonder how much pasta you all use? I do 2 sheets per person but that seems to be on the low side

Gosh, I'm totally left field

Ragu, pasta, Ragu, pasta, bechemal, cheese (usually Red Leicester...) and if I'm feeling exotic I slice up a tomato and pop that on top.

It's not really lasagna is it??? My Italian cousin would be appalled I'm sure.

@merryhouse - I have never counted per person. But I do four layers, and make a large lasagna for two days.

Tiny bit bechamel, Pasta layer, Ragu, pasta, ragu, pasta , ragu, pasta, bechamel, Parmesan

I’ve been pondering this for most of the day too @Auntieobem but I think the discussion is.. do you put a tiny bit of sauce/something to stop sticking and then immediately have a pasta layer, or do you have a good layer of sauce a couple of inches thick before your first pasta layer.

The recipe I use does have a tiny amount of sauce to prevent sticking but then yes, the bottom layer is a pasta one.

but then I don’t have a white sauce either, I have a layer made from ricotta, egg, mozzarella and parsley, and then the top layer is more mozzarella and Parmesan . Game changer for me, I hate making sauces!

Nope. But I may just try it with the next one I make. I do put grated gruyere on top of the bechemel in the layers as you can never have enough cheese or pasta!

Small layer of bechamel. Then pasta. Then ragu. Then more pasta. More ragu. More pasta. Bechamel and grated Parmesan on top.

If you have loose mince swimming on the bottom how do you get it out the dish?!

Ragu, pasta, bechamel, Ragu, pasta, bechamel. Repeat to the top of the dish. Top with more bechamel, cheese.

No, I always start with the ragu. I can see arguments for it, it might keep it together when you're serving it.

I’ve never put pasta on the bottom but am the world’s worst cook!!!

I always put sauce on the bottom. I was shocked when I moved in with DH and he put lasagne sheets on the bottom.

Yes, a thin layer of sauce mixed with the bechamel to stop the first layer of pasta from sticking.
@merryhouse I do about 6-8 layers 😂
There's no right or wrong way. Everyone does it how they like it.
(I'm in Italy and me and dh often read the bossy "Lasagne must be made like this/pronounced like that/contain this/no Italian would ever make it like this" threads in amazement - mine is thick and tall and quite solid, my sister in law doesn't use bechamel, my other sister in law doesn't use tomato sauce, etc etc)

I like my lasagne to be meat and sauce heavy, not pasta heavy.

I've recently switched my order of layers to ragu, pasta, just bechamel, pasta, ragu, bechamel. Best lasagne ever.

A thin layer of bechamel, then pasta

Correct! And there should be at least 4 sheets of lasagne. I live in the birth place of lasagne so that's the last word on the matter! 😂(Why would you put meat on the bottom? That's going to be so sloppy!)

Also no cheese sauce, just a little parmesan on top.

and spinach

I had to recheck my recipe

Thin spread of ragu then
Pasta, ragu, béchamel, mozzarella
Until I get to the last layer which is pasta, béchamel, mozzarella and Parmesan

I do this too. Thin layer of passata on the bottom then a layer of sheets :)

No. Bolognese sauce first, then lasagne, then bolognese then lasagne.

Mozzarella is not used in traditional lasagne.

I've tried it both ways (in the name of Science!)

Putting the mince in first, as a base, worked best. The ragu I make turns out pretty dry - it gets cooked for 4-5 hours - so it doesn't slop around when you cut the lasagne. A little bit of oil underneath also helps.

When I put the bechamel and pasta in first, it burned slightly and the pasta went crispy at the edges. Not so nice

I've never been able to make it. It's my Achilles heel

When I put the bechamel and pasta in first, it burned slightly and the pasta went crispy at the edges. Not so nice
There's a very expensive Michelin- starred restaurant that sells just the crispy edge of the lasagne!

I had no idea that there were such strong views about right or wrong ways of doing this. I just figured there were lots of different ways that people stack a lasagne.

FWIW, I've 'inherited' layering that goes from the bottom up:
1/4 cheese sauce
lasagne
1/2 meat sauce
1/4 cheese sauce
lasagne
1/2 meat sauce
lasagne
1/2 cheese sauce
cheese

Sometimes I slip in an extra layer of the cheese sauce / lasagne / meat cycle to rebel. And occasionally, if the meat sauce still has a high liquid content (a rushed job), I'll stick in an extra lasagne layer between the 1/2 meat and 1/4 cheese layer. I figure as long as it has multiple layers of everything and is topped with lasagne and then cheese sauce and then extra cheese, it's all good.