A main dish that I am very fond of is certainly lasagna….yellow or green are a delicacy for me!! I almost never buy them, I prefer to make them myself and maybe freeze them for another time…

The basic ingredients to prepare them are béchamel sauce and meat sauce, and the pasta can be green or yellow.

The green pasta is the one where a handful of boiled, squeezed, and finely chopped spinach replaces one egg.

Make a well in the flour and add the whole eggs in the center.

Roll out the dough to medium thickness and cut into large rectangles about 4 by 6 inches that are then blanched for about a minute in plenty of salted water with a tablespoon of oil to prevent the sheets from sticking together, creating a terrible mess.

Dry the sheets on a clean dry cloth and prepare the meat sauce and béchamel sauce.

Take a deep-sided baking dish, butter it, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs (optional), then alternate layers of pasta, meat sauce, béchamel, and grated cheese.

We are ready for the oven where the LASAGNA WITH MEAT SAUCE AND BÉCHAMEL must gratinate, creating that beautiful and delicious crust that many love!

The classic béchamel recipe requires 7 tablespoons of butter, 2/3 cup of flour, and 4 cups of milk.

First, melt the butter over low heat then add the flour to form a thick paste, the roux, which must remain white. At this point, slowly add the milk, warm or at room temperature, until used up.

Keep stirring for at least 20/25 minutes so that the flour cooks and the milk thickens properly: it should be fluid like a cream. Now add salt, white pepper, and a generous grating of nutmeg.

The meat sauce, on the other hand, is a tomato sauce characterized by the presence of meat and is a classic condiment for pasta, for making timbales, and pasta pies.

There are two types of meat sauce, Neapolitan and Bolognese.

The Neapolitan meat sauce is prepared with tomato and whole pieces of meat, cooked for a long time, 5/6 hours, and is very tasty, rich as it is in juices extracted from the meat, and it is dense, a nice dark red color.

The meat is then served separately and is the braised part of the meat sauce. My “meat sauce” is the Bolognese type: always with tomato but with minced meat and clearly requires less cooking, about 2 hours.

FOR MY MEAT SAUCE, I prepare a thin soffritto with celery, onion, and carrot; I let it sweat a little in oil then add selected minced meat and an equal weight of sausage paste.

I brown for 5 minutes then add a pinch of sugar, a little milk, and enough tomato puree to make the mixture fluid.

I put the lid on and let it simmer for about two hours.

Now taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

Some add red wine, letting the alcohol evaporate before adding the tomato…personally, I don’t like the stronger flavor it gives, but it’s a very personal choice…

To make lasagna, now just proceed with layering the handmade pasta sheet, of which you can find the recipe here, or use the ready-made one you find in the supermarket fridge, alternating the sheet, meat sauce, béchamel, a good handful of grated Parmesan, and start over…

Finish with the béchamel and bake at medium heat 356 °F until a golden crust forms on top… What do you think…did I make your mouth water???? Bon appétit!!!

Annalisa