Lasagna - general principles and methods of preparation
Want to feel like a real Italian for a while? Then prepare a traditional dish of Italian cuisine, originally from the city of Bologna. Lasagna in its origins meant only a cooking pot. The word itself comes from the Greek “lasanon” - hot plates. Practical Italians have adapted the word for the name of their signature dish, a real favorite of their cuisine. For its preparation, we need the dough, filling and bechamel sauce. The filling can be made of any components - meat, minced meat, tomatoes, spinach and other vegetables.
Cheese, beef stew, mushrooms, ham and other goodies are also welcome. As for the dough, it is prepared very simply, as for pasta or noodles. Almost all supermarkets sell ready-made sheets for this nourishing and appetizing dish. Some sheets do not even need to boil in advance - follow the instructions on the package. In total, lasagna needs six layers, each of which is shifted by filling, and on top of everything is poured with grated cheese with a few pieces of butter. By the way, if the finished dish is not eaten immediately, it can be frozen for the future.
Lasagna - food preparation
If you follow exactly the Italian menu, then choose such varieties of cheese as ricotta and mozzarella. Parmesan is used on a compulsory basis only in lasagna bolognese, but for home cooking you can take any hard cheese. The main thing is to get an incredibly delicious crust when baking in the oven. As a mince it is better to take a mixture of beef and pork. If you want a easier meal - chicken mince will do just fine.
Lasagna - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Lasagna with minced meat
The delicate taste of lasagna with minced meat, like the appearance itself, causes an incredible appetite. This dish just can not linger on the table. Add to it a couple of salads and a real holiday dinner is ready! Pamper your loved ones. Ingredients:
Dough: flour (2-3 glasses), water (1 glass), eggs (2-3 pieces), vegetable oil, (1 tbsp. Spoon), salt.
Layer: minced meat (pig and beef), tomatoes (600 grams), carrots (1-2 pieces), onions (1 pieces), garlic (a few cloves), butter (100 grams), flour (100 grams) , milk (1 liter), salt, pepper, vegetable oil.
Method of preparation
Cooking dough. In the pile of flour on the table, gradually add a glass of cold water and 2-3 eggs. Salt, pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and knead the dough. Put it in half an hour in the fridge. Then roll it into flat cakes as dumplings and cut into wide strips (by the size of the baking dish).
Filling. Rub the carrots on a medium grater, fry the tomatoes, onions and garlic in vegetable oil. Add carrots and fry some more. Then lay out the contents of minced meat, salt, pepper, stew for 20 minutes. Tomatoes last. And a little stew.
Bechamel sauce. Add the flour to the butter melted in a pan and mix until smooth. Gradually add milk. Heat and boil until a mass is formed without lumps, resembling liquid sour cream.
On a medium grater, grate the cheese and boil the lasagna sheets until half cooked. We form a dish: the sheets are laid in layers with minced meat in a greased form. Half of the meat mass spread part of the sauce and so on. Last leaf grease the remaining sauce, bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Then sprinkle with grated cheese and another 5-7 minutes waiting for the formation of a ruddy crust.
Recipe 2: Lasagna with mushrooms
Mushrooms favorably emphasize and set off the taste of many dishes, and even in lasagna they look very organic. Spend no more than 1-2 hours in the kitchen and your house will be filled with the aromas of magnificent mushroom lasagna. You can use the purchased sheets and ordinary champignons, but to make the dish more satisfying - add light chicken meat. A little secret - a little chicken liver and ham will give lasagne a rich, rich taste. Ingredients: lasagna sheets (14 pcs), bechamel sauce (850 ml), parmesan cheese (grated), olive oil, mushrooms (230 grams), onions (1 pc), minced chicken (300 grams), chicken liver (80 grams), ham (115 grams), sweet white wine (150 ml), basil, tomato paste (2 tablespoons), salt and pepper.
Method of preparation
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add garlic, mushrooms, onions and fry, stirring for about 6 minutes. Add minced chicken, liver, ham, fry for another 10-12 minutes, until the stuffing turns dark. Add wine, tomatoes and seasonings. Stew for another 30 minutes. In an open saucepan, simmer another 15 minutes.
Lubricate the baking dish with oil and lay the lasagne sheets on the bottom, after having pre-lubricated the form. Alternate - mushroom sauce, bechamel, again a sheet of dough. And so on. Finish with bechamel sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 190 degrees. Bring a fragrant dish right to the table before it has cooled.
Recipe 3: Chicken Lasagna
But what about no chicken? Delicate chicken meat with cheese sauce and wine will make our dish breathtakingly tasty. First, boil the chicken whole, and then cut and grind the meat.
Ingredients: whole gutted chicken (1, 5 kg), white wine (300 ml), onion, celery, pepper, bay leaf, salt, green onion, butter (150 grams), garlic, cheese grated solid, (250 grams), low-fat cream (280 ml), Parmesan cheese (4 tablespoons), peanuts, lasagna dough (200g).
Method of preparation
Wash the chicken and add water. Boil 1 hour whole with half a serving of wine and spices, onions and celery. Cool and cut the meat into pieces. Chicken broth boiled to 1 liter. Dip lasagna slices into hot water and hold for a few minutes. We shift in cold water. Fry onion in butter together with garlic for 10 minutes. Add the remaining butter and flour, fry until golden brown. Pour in the broth and the remaining wine.
Bring to a boil, boil for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Pour some sauce into a baking dish and lay out layers: dough, chicken, onion. Grated cheese, sauce. Continue until the ingredients run out. Top must be sauce and pasta, sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Nuts and cook in a hot oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.
Recipe 4: Eggplant Lasagna
Cheap and tasty eggplants are perfect for vegetable lasagna. Fry them a little on the grill so that they are juicy, but not oily, and season with tomato sauce - if you have not tasted this, you will have a new pet among vegetable dishes.
Ingredients: eggplants (1, 5 kg), olive oil (5 spoons), onion, sugar (2 tablespoons), salt, dry basil, canned tomatoes (400 grams), dough (12 sheets ), Parmesan (30 grams), mozzarella (225 grams).
Method of preparation
Heat the grill and bake the eggplants on the grid with slices (brush with oil on both sides). Fry 10 minutes, close to the fire until golden brown and overturn. The oven is heated to 190 degrees.
Tomato sauce: Heat the remaining butter in a 4-liter saucepan, spread onions, fry, add sugar, salt, basil, tomatoes with juice.
Mash tomatoes with a spoon, bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Cook the dough layers as indicated in the instructions, then form the dish in the baking dish. Some tomato sauce, dough, a layer of eggplants, half the remaining sauce, some parmesan and some mozzarella. Repeat the operation several times, bake 40 minutes. After cooking, the dish should stand for 10 minutes to make it easier to cut into portions.
Recipe 5: Lasagna with Meatballs and Chicken Eggs
The claimed dish is nothing but “Neapolitan lasagna”. It differs from the already familiar recipe with meat in that we roll meatballs from mince and fry them. In addition, we use tomatoes in our own juice for the preparation of tomato sauce.
Ingredients: onions (1 pc.), Carrots (1 pc.), Celery stalk (1 pc.), Garlic, tomatoes in their own juice (1 liter), chicken eggs (5 pcs.), Beef mince (400 grams), mozzarella (150 grams), parmesan (60 grams), a little olive oil and butter for greasing the form, a plate of dough, dry red wine (50 grams).
Method of preparation Boil the dough until half cooked. We cut the vegetables, a little stew them in a frying pan with vegetable oil and wine. Half of the liquid should evaporate. Mash tomatoes in their own juice and bring them to a boil over low heat. For the preparation of minced meat, we will cut the parmesan into flat plates, mix it with raw egg and cheese. We make small meatballs from mincemeat. Fry in a skillet and add to tomato sauce. Boiled cool eggs cut on the plate, also do with mozzarella.
In a baking dish, lay out the boiled sheets of lasagna (see instructions) and close the sauce. Mozzarella washers and eggs follow. Then again a layer of dough and repeat everything with the sauce. Cover several layers with foil and set in the oven. Enough 20 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees. We take out the beauty from the oven and cut it into pieces. Beware, she is very hot! This and it should be served at the table - be careful and enjoy your meal!
Lasagna - useful tips from experienced chefs
- Real chic - seafood lasagna. Take as a layer, for example, perch fillet (or any oily fish), overcooked with onions, decorate the finished dish with roasted peanuts, shrimps and mussels - get a dish worthy of the most expensive Italian restaurant.
- Another original idea - lasagna with pineapple. Spread pineapple slices between layers of meat (veal, croutons or beef), sprinkle with nutmeg, and bake. This dish can be an excellent basis for a romantic dinner. Surprise your loved ones!
