Lasagne recipe

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I’m desperately trying to perfect my lasagne recipe but can’t seem to get the tomato sauce rich enough. Where am I going wrong?

Olive oil
Carrots/Onion/Celery/Garlic
Beef & pork mince
Beef stock
Tomato Puree
Tinned tomato’s (purposely paid for Mutti tinned tomatoes thinking this would be the golden ticket!)
Sun dried tomato paste
Rosemary
Mixed Herbs

I also used fresh lasagne sheets this time which I thought would be great but wasn’t overly keen.

My white sauce also tasted great but wasn’t as flavoursome in the actual lasagne…

Develop your flavours

Your meet needs to be well browned and I’d also add in some Italian sausage.

your sauce - you need to cook the veg base with your tomato paste long and slow with frequent stirring - the sugars in the tomato paste caremalise when cooked slowly over time.

You need a tablespoon of sugar in your sauce and a splash of balsamic

Not a recipe tip but when it is cooked I let mine stand a while to firm up before cutting into generous wedges 😃

I brown off the meat ( I use lamb because I don’t eat beef or pork) with chopped onion grated carrots and celery add garlic. I don’t use tinned tomato I just use passata and a good dollop of paste or my own roasted tomatoes if I have any in the freezer. Splash of red wine herbs and that’s it, reduce it down so it’s nice and thick.

the sauce is a plain white sauce well seasoned with a touch mustard added

plenty of good string cheese between the layers

bake long and slow

I think you’re overthinking it. Mince, lasagne sheets, jar of tomato based sauce, jar of cheese sauce, mix of cheddar & mozzarella on top, job sorted tastes amazing

Mines delicious but really basic, it just cooks a long time.

Beef mince, soffritto, tin of toms Cirio, tomato puree Cirio, garlic paste, oregano, salt and pepper, spoon of sugar. Big slug of GOOD red wine, don't use cheap stuff. Cook for a long time.....

Bechamel basic butter, flour, milk, lots of pepper.

Egg lasagna, dry or fresh.

Lots of parmesan between the layers, and on top.

Lol. No.........

I use this one.

https://gordonramsaysbollocks.tumblr.com/post/10823627513/gordons-classic-lasagna-al-forno-recipe

I do add crumbled back pudding with the mince, it enriches it.

While fine for non-cooks, that’s obviously not what someone like OP, who said she’s looking to “perfect” her lasagne, is after.

Few squares of dark chocolate - and as lots of others say - leave to bubble away for a long time!

The onions need cooking off for about 40 mins, this is to develop the flavour, then the ragu actually cooks down for a few hours.

You dont need fake cubes or stock cubes or anything, its about time

I make my lasagne without the traditional carrots/ celery/ onions of a bolognese. I use an entire head of garlic.

Minced beef, sometimes with minced pork but not always.
15 Oz tin of crushed tomatoes plus a few Tbsp tomato puree
Some water to rinse out the can
Red Wine
S&P
Dried basil and oregano
A little nutmeg

Brown the meat in a little splash of oil, medium heat
Drain/ scoop off most of the rendered fat
Add minced garlic and stir around for a few mins, low heat
Add a sprinkle of nutmeg
Add red wine with pot on high heat
Let evaporate for a few mins, bubbling away
Add crushed tomatoes (if you can't buy crushed tomatoes, put 15ozs tinned tomatoes in the blender and add puree, then whiz it)
Rinse can with a little water; add to pot
Add dried herbs, S&P
Bring to a boil for a few mins then turn to simmer for an hour

For bechamel, make a roux, add any milk to make about 8 cups of sauce. Add a sprinkling of nutmeg, S&P, and a green onion/ scallion/ spring onion and bay leaf, stirring and simmering as it thickens.

Butter your dish, place lasagne sheets directly on the bottom, add meat sauce, sheets of lasagne, bechamel (discard onion and bay leaf), sheets of lasagne, meat sauce, sheets of lasagne, bechamel, oregano, grated cheese to completely cover the top.

If your meat sauce thickened up too much and it looks as if there are gaps/ dry patches in your unbaked lasagne, add 2 cups of red wine around the sides so there's plenty of liquid for the lasagne sheets to absorb and soften (I use dry sheets).

Bake 35-40 mins in medium high oven ( I'm in US and set my oven to 350-375 F).

I also use a few hot pepper flakes in the meat sauce, depending on who is going to be at home for dinner.

I use Gordon Ramsey's lasagne recipe which adds milk to the ragu. You also need to leave it for 10 mins after it comes out of the oven before serving

I use sun dried tomato paste - a whole jar - rather than plain tomato purée.
Also lots of red wine - I use some to swill out the last of the tomatoes from the tins. No stock.
I simmer the ragu for at least an hour and a half, partly covered, to tenderise the meat, thicken the sauce and enrich the flavour.
For the bechamel - I infuse the milk with an onion, parsley, bay leaf and black peppercorns before making the sauce. I do this the night before and leave it overnight to really develop the flavour before straining. I don’t put cheese into the sauce - just some nutmeg and then a sprinkling of grated Parmesan on top of the dish.
I use fresh lasagne sheets and put them directly into the dish - no pre cooking.
Finally, once it’s out of the oven, I let it sit for 10 minutes or so to firm up before serving.

Spoon of sugar in the Ragu to counteract the acidity of tomatoes. I use Sainsbury's own brand tinned plum tomatoes and chop them, no difference to using mutti or other premium brand. Add a glug of port too. Simmer for a couple of hours.

Red wine and cream are your friends. :)

I sometimes put some finely chopped chicken livers in my lasagne - don't knock til you try it! Give it a really rich and luxurious taste.

I always use a recipe from a book I was given nearly 50 years ago - never seen anything similar anywhere else. So, usual Bolognese, lasagne sheets, etc, layered. Then I mix a tub of cottage cheese with two eggs and spread over the top. Next a normal cheese sauce topped with grated cheese. It's absolutely delicious - and very easy.