How to cook lasagna

Italian lasagna can compete with its compatriot, Italian pizza, in the popularity rating. Lasagne is cooked in cafes and restaurants, they sell frozen semi-finished products, they eat in street diners in Europe and America. In this case, despite its "traditional", lasagna is a national dish, folk. And this means that the only true recipe for lasagna simply does not exist. Each housewife, every restaurant chef knows how to cook lasagna, adding something from herself, or even completely removing some of the ingredients from the recipe.

Here it is necessary to understand what is primarily in lasagne, and what is secondary and can easily vary according to your taste. In its essence, this Italian dish is a puff cake, where lasagna sheets act as a dough , fillings serve as a filling, tomato sauce serves as a link, and a fragrant crust is made from cheese.

So, how to cook lasagna? Let's start with the test.

Dough - the basis of any lasagna, so it is necessary to approach it seriously. The lasagna dough is made in the same way as for traditional Italian pasta: fine wheat flour from hard wheat varieties, water and salt, eggs, olive oil. So, for 200 grams of flour we will need: 2 eggs, 25 ml of olive oil (a tablespoon), a pinch of salt. The amount of water should be such that the dough turns out to be steep, but elastic. Now the test should be "relaxed" under the film or a towel for 1.5-2 hours, after which it should be rolled into a layer 0.2-0.3 mm thick. Well, if the farm has a machine for pasta. If not - then you will have to work with a rolling pin. Then the dough is cut into rectangles (see that they fit the size of your lasagna shape), which immediately go into business, or are dried and stored "on demand" in clean dry utensils.

If you do not feel like it, if you do not know how to cook lasagna at home, if there is no possibility or the right ingredients for the dough, just buy lasagna sheets in the store. Again, examine the composition: the flour must be from solid wheat varieties. And pay attention to the instruction: some manufacturers recommend pre-boil the sheets of dough, and sheets for lasagna of other brands can be used in dry form.

We continue to learn how to cook lasagna. Prepare the sauce.

Beshamel sauce in lasagna recipes appeared not so long ago, but without it it is already difficult to imagine "the same taste". So, melt on a small fire 2 tablespoons of butter, add 2 tablespoons of flour to the oil and, constantly stirring, wait for a delicate nutty flavor. Now add a thin trickle of milk - about 500 ml. And again we prevent that there were no lumps. We get from the sauce of the necessary density (approximately like the consistency of good yogurt), add salt, black pepper, nutmeg. Saute for lasagna is ready!

How to cook lasagna or mince

There may be a lot of variations. Traditional meat stuffing can consist of a finely chopped mixture of beef and pork, as well as lamb, game, chicken and turkey. Minced meat can be fish and include a variety of seafood, or vegetable - eggplant, zucchini, zucchini, artichokes, asparagus, sweet pepper, all kinds of mushrooms. In a word - everything you want or everything that is in the refrigerator. But the sauce in which the minced meat you choose will be stewed and come to the ready - certainly tomato. In the domestic realities, the best Italian traditional pasta is best for this role: crushed tomatoes without skins, and any canned tomatoes. Especially in winter, when there are no ground tomatoes in sight, and those that are - completely stupid in the culinary plan.

How to cook lasagna in Italian or we collect lasagna

Lubricate the lasagne form with olive oil. Lay the bottom of the form with sheets for lasagna, then - a layer of minced meat, a layer of sauce. There is no need to be stingy, but it's also easy to overdo it. The layer of minced meat should be about one centimeter, and the sauce should cover the stuffing completely. Next - again a layer of dough, a layer of minced meat, a layer of sauce. And so to the top of the form. The last layer is laid out like this: a layer of dough, a layer of sauce - and sprinkle with cheese. Traditionally - mozzarella, but any easily melted cheese will do. Put the mold in the oven, heated to 180 degrees. As soon as the cheese is melted from above and begins to be covered with dark burns - we take it out! Lasagna is ready! Add a glass of Italian red wine here ... and the perfect dinner is ready! Now you know how to prepare lasagna, it remains only to take advice and begin to prepare a delicious Italian dish.