Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.
Lasagne al Forno
Lasagne al Forno is a traditional Italian recipe for a classic beef-based lasagne dish with Bolognese sauce, Béchamel sauce and a tomato sauce layered between sheets of pasta. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Italian dish of: Lasagne al Forno.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
140 minutes
Total Time:
160 minutes
Serves:
6
Rating: 
Tags : Beef RecipesVegetable RecipesCheese RecipesBaking RecipesItaly Recipes
This is a classic Italian layered pasta dish that, traditionally, is made with fresh pasta. But it works well with dried pasta sheets as long as they are cooked in boiling water before use.
Ingredients:
For the Bolognese Sauce:
225g minced beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, grated
1 small tin of tomato purée
275ml beef stock
110g plain flour
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
For the Béchamel Sauce:
1.1l whole milk
225g butter
225g plain flour
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
For the Tomato Sauce:
110g chopped, tinned, tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp dried
oregano, crumbled
1/2 tsp fresh
parsley, finely chopped
8 leaves of green lasagne pasta
110g red cheese, grated
60g freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Method:
Heat the oil in a pan then add the minced beef, onion, carrot and garlic and fry until the meat is nicely browned all over then season and add the tomato purée. Stir to combine then scatter the flour over the top and mix in to combine thoroughly before adding the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook slowly for an hour. Adjust the seasonings and set aside.
For the tomato sauce begin by frying the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil. Continue frying until golden then add the tined tomatoes, oregano and parsley. Stir to combine then cook the mixture gently for 10 minutes so that all the flavours have a chance to combine.
Finally, for the Béchamel sauce, pour 3/4 of the milk in to a pan and scald (this is the point at which bubbles are rising around the sides of the pan and the milk is almost boiling). In a separate pan melt the butter and when completely melted scatter the flour over the top and stir in to form a smooth roux. Mix the remaining cold milk thoroughly into the roux then whisk-in the hot milk. Heat the resultant mixture, whisking all the while, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and black pepper and set aside.
Whilst you're preparing the sauces cook the pasta in boiling water for about 4 minutes then plunge the leaves in a pan of cold water before draining and drying with a clean towel.
Combine a little of the 3 sauces and 2 cheeses in the base of a large oven-proof dish then cover with 2 leaves of pasta. Place the Bolognese sauce on top, cover with 2 pasta sheets then place the tomato sauce on top of these and cover with 2 more pasta sheets. Continue in this fashion until the sauces and pasta sheets have all been used up.
Pour the Béchamel sauce on top then cover with the remaining cheeses. Place the dish in an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 35–40 minutes, or until the dish has heated through and the cheese on top is golden.
Enjoy with crusty garlic bread and a good Italian wine.
