Thursday, 27 November 2014

Lasagne...because everything tastes better with bechamel

Using the sauce I brought you last night: you can make an awesome lasagne.  You actually only use 2/3 of the sauce, so I've got some other ideas coming your way for how to use the rest of it.

I normally use homemade pasta, but for the sake of making this accessible for everyone, I've used dried lasagne sheets by Barilla.  They come in a pack of 20 and are much thinner than the equivalent dried pasta sheets on the market.  They are also made with egg, so if you prefer no egg you might want to swap them.

Lasagne works so well for every age group, as it is easy to eat.  Master 2 has been eating it for at least a year (when he was one).

Lasagne isn't lasagne without a bechamel sauce, so before we get stuck into the lasagne you've got to make that.  But trust me, it is very worthwhile!

Kidgredients Lasagne
Ingredients:
Bechamel
1/3 cup plain flour
60 grams butter
3 cups milk
80 grams grated parmesan cheese
pinch of nutmeg
Lasagne
24 lasagne sheets
1 portion bechamel sauce
2/3 of this bolognaise sauce
2 cups of grated cheese of your choice

Method:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming.
Add the flour and stir quickly to eliminate lumps.
Remove from heat and add the milk in a continuous stream whilst whisking.
Return to the heat ans stir continuously with a spoon until it boils and thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.  
Stir in the cheese until fully melted.  Add the nutmeg and stir through.

Lasagne
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
I use an 8x 13 inch rectangular cast iron dish for my lasagne, you will need to adjust your lasagne to fit the dish that you have.
Start with a ladle of bolognaise sauce.  Put it in the bottom of the dish.  This helps to cook the bottom layer as the pasta sheets require liquid to cook.  It also helps with removing it from the dish.  Don't ignore this step, it is essential.
Top with as many sheets of pasta as you need, my dish needs 4 sheets per layer.  It doesn't matter if they overlap.
Top with a layer of sauce (about 4 ladles).
Top with lasagna sheets.
Top with1/3 of the bechamel.
Repeat, ending with bechamel sauce.
Top with grated cheese, I use a mix of mozzarella and cheddar.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Lasagne is best frozen in kid size portions for easy reheating after baking.  If you want to keep adult size portions, do that too! I cut it when cold and freeze it standing in a container.  It's easy to slide out and reheat that way.



No comments:

Post a Comment