Who is BU, 1 or 2, lasagne building

[Stevearnottsbeard]

Lighthearted but I'm intrigued as to how everyone else puts together their lasagna... Not the ingredients or cooking but the actual 'building' of it, me and my husband disagree.
So I've been making it the same way for years, husband has never complained about it and loves it but last night was surprised to find out how I constructed it, he said he would do it differently, so which way you would agree with:

1. Meat, pasta, white sauce, repeat, cheese on top.
2. Pasta, meat, repeat, white sauce on top only, cheese

1

Similar to 1, but start with white sauce, then pasta, meat, white sauce for layers. Then finish with pasta, white sauce and cheese.

Lasagne is all about the white sauce for me. However restaurant lasagne only has white sauce on top.

[quote ReviewingTheSituation]@OnTheBrink1 - have you tried the 'all in one' method? Butter, flour and milk all in the pan together, over a gentle heat. As soon as the butter starts to melt, whisk it until it all comes together and then when it resembles a sauce, you're over the danger point and won't get lumps. Even if you do get lumps, whisking will sort them out. I always make white sauce with a whisk rather than a spoon - it's much more forgiving!

It only takes a couple of minutes. I honestly can't taste the difference between a sauce made that way and one where you cook the flour off first.[/quote]
Really- never tried that! Will have to give it a go as I often fancy a cheese sauce with things but can’t be bothered with the stirring!

I use method 1.

I make a huge lasagne that will do us for 2 meals. Does anyone else do this and find the 2nd day it's much better - first day it's much more liquidy and runny and doesn't hold together so well, but after a night in the fridge, the 2nd time, consistency is just better.

Of course, I could refrigerate before cooking after assembling, but usually am very keen to eat it and can't wait.

Love lasagne.

I make the rage using leek, garlic, mince, some mushrooms, pepper and carrot plus passata. I do use a large jar of white sauce. I have to say I like the taste if them and it's one less pan. I always ore cook the pasta sheets as otherwise they are a bit hard. If going in with the ragu and pasta sheets hot, I give it 30 mins in oven, but 45 if from cold.

On 2nd day it has 30-45 mins....second go of cooking.

I only did it once years ago. Followed instructions to the letter but pasta turned out hard and crisp. Life's too short for this faff.

1 but I make a cheese sauce and layer that through it.

Similar to one but with past between every layer. Ours is veggie, so I'll go for a generic 'tomato sauce' (with meat or veg):

Tomato sauce / pasta / white sauce / pasta / tomato sauce / pasta / white sauce / cheese.

Could keep going, with another layer of each sauce.

@Horehound - not a cookery school, but an 'agrotourismo'. Essentially a farm/estate which takes visitors, either on a B&B or SC basis. So we stayed in the big farmhouse with Mama and her lovely sons, and they made us an amazing breakfast every day, and on the nights that we wanted it, Mama cooked us dinner too (largely from their own produce). We ate it with the other guests, along with the wine made from their grapes.
You had the option of spending an afternoon cooking with Mama, which we did, along with a lovely American couple who were also staying there, and then spent the evening eating it all. Bliss.

I do GF lasagne in method 2 because DS doesn't like do much cheese sauce.

Normal lasagne I do in method 3:
Meat sauce, white sauce, pasta and repeat (with no pasta on the top layer).

When I make a lasagne for my family and serve it with green veg, I always feel like super-mummy. It's the meal that makes me most pleased with myself. Cottage Pie has a similar, but not quite so good effect on me. Daft really.

1 but no more than 3 pasta layers

1 with a layer of bechamel on top for the grated cheese to sit on.

@MadisonAvenue

1 with a layer of bechamel on top for the grated cheese to sit on.

Yes

[quote ReviewingTheSituation]@Horehound - not a cookery school, but an 'agrotourismo'. Essentially a farm/estate which takes visitors, either on a B&B or SC basis. So we stayed in the big farmhouse with Mama and her lovely sons, and they made us an amazing breakfast every day, and on the nights that we wanted it, Mama cooked us dinner too (largely from their own produce). We ate it with the other guests, along with the wine made from their grapes.
You had the option of spending an afternoon cooking with Mama, which we did, along with a lovely American couple who were also staying there, and then spent the evening eating it all. Bliss.[/quote]
This sounds fabulous!

2 because I don't really like the white sauce

1 (although a tip I learnt from an Italian book years ago was to start with meat then pasta, then meat, white sauce, pasta, meat, good layer of white sauce to top it off, and lots of parmesan)

In case anyone doubts the 'all in one' approach - Delia does it
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-complete-how-to-cook/all-in-one-white-sauce (although I use the same weight of flour as butter, roughly)

And BBC have a recipe too...
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/allinonewhitesauce_66114

I think 1. Although possibly with the white sauce only on top... 🤔 It's a long time since I've made it!

1 but white sauce has cheese in it and is a much thinner layer than the ragu layer.

1. but meat, pasta, cheese sauce, and repeat, repeat, repeat.

I hate lasagne but I make 2 giant ones about once a quarter.

1 with twice as much white sauce on top as in the layers.

1
And usually some spinach between meat and sauce layers, too.

@GinnieHempstock

Neither. I do meat, pasta, meat, pasta, white sauce, cheese.

This is what I do as well. Too much white sauce makes it too sloppy for me.

Beef ragu , béchamel, pasta, repeat these three layers however many times (2 or 3 sets), finish with béchamel, then Parmesan sprinkled on top!