Lasagna

how I make this delicious classic dish!

Layers of springy pasta between a meaty ragu and a cheesy silky béchamel sauce, what more can you ask for? Something about lasagnas are just so comforting and delicious! I like to add leeks into my béchamel sauce since it lightens the sauce by adding a nice touch of sweetness. I’m not so experienced with making fresh pasta, but it adds such a nice texture and depth to the lasagna.

I like to use fresh pasta because I like the texture that it has. However, fresh pasta is a lot of work. When I’m not feeling up to using fresh pasta, I prefer to use packaged lasagna sheets. Especially the ones that say that don’t require pre-boiling!

Ingredients

Bolognese Sauce, made the day before and stored in the refrigerator

Bechamel Leek Cheese Sauce
2 leeks, white parts, washed and sliced thinly
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Fresh Pasta
2 cups OO flour, can substitute with all-purpose
3 large eggs
Pinch salt
Semolina flour or rice flour, for dusting

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

---

Directions

1. Pasta Dough
   -Add 2 cups OO flour to a large flat surface, creating a mound. Spread the flour out so that you create a large wide hole within mound, with ample space and high borders. Then crack in 3 large eggs with a pinch of salt. Use a fork to whisk the eggs as you slowly incorporate the flour around into the eggs. Once around half of the flour is incorporated, switch to your hands and start kneading the pasta until it is combined with most of the flour. Keep kneading for five minutes until its springy.
   -Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for an hour or more.

2. Bechamel Leek Cheese Sauce
   -Heat some oil in a pot over medium heat. Add your 2 leeks along with some salt and pepper. Cook the leeks stirring frequently until the leeks caramelize and fully soften (around 15-20 minutes). Transfer the leeks to another bowl.
   -With the heat still on medium, add 5 tablespoons unsalted butter to the same pot until the butter fully melts. Then add 5 tablespoons flour to the butter and whisk for a minute or so to cook the flour. Now add 3 cups milk to the roux along with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cook while frequently stirring until the sauce boils and thickens.
   -Add the leeks back in, lower the heat to medium low and cook for a few more minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese. Mix it in, then set aside.

3. Pasta part 2
   -Cut your pasta dough in half. As you use half of the dough, cover the other half so that it does not dry out.
   -Roll out half the dough and pass it through a pasta machine on it’s widest setting. Cut the rolled dough in half. Switch the pasta machine to the next thinner setting, and pass both doughs through the machine. Repeat as you make the pasta sheets thinner and longer with each pass-through. Cut your two pasta sheets in half. Repeat with the other dough you covered. You should end up with 8 pasta sheets, 2 for each layer of your lasagna.
   -As you layer your pasta sheets on a baking tray, be sure to dust them with semolina flour or rice flour to prevent them from sticking together.
   -Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath as well. Cook your noodles in the boiling water for 30-45 seconds and then immediately plunge them into the ice bath. Transfer to a baking sheet, then brush with some oil to prevent stickage.

4. Assembly
   -Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
   -Take out your bolognese sauce that you made the day before.
   -Add a few spoonfuls of the bolognese sauce to the bottom of a baking dish and spread it out. Then cover the sauce with two pasta sheets. Add 1/3 of the remaining bolognese sauce. Dollop some of the white sauce on top and spread it around with an offset spatula. Grate parmesan cheese liberally on top of the sauces. Cover with 2 more sheets of pasta. Repeat with the bolognese sauce, white sauce and parmesan. Repeat one last time with the pasta sheets, bolognese sauce, white sauce and parmesan. Then cover with the remaining two pasta sheets. Slather the remaining white sauce on top of the pasta sheets. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top along with the parmesan cheese.
   -Bake your lasagna for 45 minutes. Then set the oven to broil and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes to form a nice crispy top. Keep and eye on it to prevent it from burning.

5. Enjoy!
   -let the lasagna sit for around 10 minutes to set a bit before digging in!