Lasagna with broccoli rabe and sausage has a delicious and exquisite taste. An original and very tasty first course that we can bring to the table even for special occasions.
Genuine and full of flavor, it can also be enjoyed as a one-dish meal.
They are made with broccoli rabe, a typical autumn and winter vegetable, with an intense and slightly spicy flavor.
If you can’t find fresh broccoli rabe, you can also use frozen ones.
An Italian cuisine dish: whether you use friarielli or broccoli rabe, they will wonderfully complement the saltiness and fattiness of the sausage. I can say it’s excellent even if you use broccoli.
Broccoli rabe or friarielli and sausage is the classic dish I often prepare, and just the other day, there was leftover cooked and sautéed broccoli rabe, so it really only took a moment to prepare this quick baked pasta.
And I must say it was very much appreciated and devoured.
Broccoli rabe is a vegetable rich in properties with few calories and a lot of fiber, cholesterol-free. Excellent supply of minerals, particularly potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.
Particularly rich in calcium, it contains vitamins A and C. Highly recommended in the diet.
To make it creamy, I added a little béchamel sauce.
As for the béchamel, we can make it at home or, to make the recipe even faster, use the ready-made one.
I also leave you the recipe for the light béchamel and the gluten-free one with rice milk.
As for the cooking methods, I’ve included both oven and air fryer options with the times and temperatures.
I invite you to try them, I’m sure you’ll love them too.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 5 People
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 708.36 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 51.90 (g) of which sugars 11.01 (g)
- Proteins 29.68 (g)
- Fat 42.89 (g) of which saturated 14.95 (g)of which unsaturated 8.00 (g)
- Fibers 3.31 (g)
- Sodium 2,964.38 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Lasagna with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
- 9 oz lasagna sheets
- 10.5 oz sausages
- 14 oz broccoli rabe (weight when cooked)
- 1.75 oz Parmesan (grated)
- 5.25 oz mozzarella (or provola or scamorza)
- 1 knob butter (to grease the baking dish)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- chili pepper
- salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- salt
- nutmeg
Tools
- Baking dish
- Pot
- Small Pan
Steps
Lasagna with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Clean the broccoli rabe by cutting the stems and washing them well.
Bring salted water to a boil and blanch the broccoli rabe for 5 minutes, then drain them with a slotted spoon and let them drain well.(Here’s a tip to keep the broccoli rabe green: just add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water before cooking them).
In the meantime, lightly brown the crumbled sausage in a pan for about 5 minutes, until it changes color (the cooking will continue in the oven, so don’t overcook it).
Set the sausage aside and in the same pan, heat the olive oil, chopped chili pepper, and a whole clove of garlic.
Drain the broccoli rabe, add them to the pan and let them flavor for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the béchamel separately.
To prepare the béchamel, heat the milk.
In another small pan, melt the butter over low heat, add the salt and nutmeg, move the pan from the heat, add the flour, and continue to stir with the whisk to avoid lumps.
Return the pan to the heat and continue stirring. When the mixture starts to take on a light golden color, incorporate the hot milk and mix everything vigorously with the whisk.
Cook until it starts to boil to achieve a good density.
We keep it aside.
Grease the baking dish with a knob of butter.
Create a base of béchamel in a rectangular baking dish, then add a layer of lasagna sheets and place a bit of broccoli rabe, sausage, some mozzarella cubes, and a sprinkle of grated cheese on top.
Cover with another layer of pasta and add two tablespoons of béchamel, some broccoli rabe and sausage, mozzarella pieces, and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
Make another layer of pasta and continue with the layers until the ingredients are used up.
Bake the lasagna in a preheated static oven at 375°F for 20 minutes, or in a ventilated oven at 350°F for the same time.
If necessary, we can extend the cooking time by 5 minutes and at the end, we can brown the surface with a few minutes of grilling.
(If you want to keep its vibrant colors, I recommend covering with parchment paper for the last 5 minutes and bringing it to cooking this way, you’ll serve a colorful and beautifully stringy dish).
Cooking in an air fryer Place the baking dish in the air fryer’s basket and cook for 20 minutes at 355°F, then set to 390°F and cook for 2 minutes, in this way you will get a nice crunchy crust. (Obviously, check each air fryer has its own times).
Take the lasagna out of the oven, portion it, and enjoy it hot and steaming!
Enjoy your meal.
Tips
After taking them out of the oven, I suggest waiting about ten minutes before cutting and serving them at the table.
This way they will have cooled down a bit, the béchamel will be slightly more compact, and it will be easier to cut them and create regular slices.
To prepare a perfect lasagna, just follow a few tips and use high-quality ingredients. To avoid the dish being too bitter, buy fresh broccoli rabe and cook them immediately, without leaving them in the refrigerator for many days.
We used fresh lasagna pasta that doesn’t need to be boiled, but if we buy dry sheets, we should follow the instructions on the package.
It may be necessary to blanch them in water or use a more liquid béchamel to aid cooking.
Lasagna can be prepared on the spot, but if we prefer, we can make it the day before and heat it in the oven. If there are leftovers, we can store them in the refrigerator for a couple of days or freeze them and consume them within two months.
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