pasta, lasagna, red sauce, marinara, tomato sauce, montes
Servings
8
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Lasagna recipes vary from chef to chef, kitchen to kitchen. Some use ricotta, some use bechamel. Some put mozz on every layer, some just on top. Some use fresh lasagna noodles, some dry, and some boil those noodles first and some don't. I know sounds complicated.
This recipe is Big Wet's variation which leans more towards a traditional roman style which uses thin, dried lasagna noodles (not boiled), bechamel instead of ricotta, and mozz only on top.
My advice is to get the bet quality 100% durhum wheat semolina dried lasagna, not big box brand thick cut sheets.
Feel free to sub mushrooms (or veg of your choice) if you don't do meat in the bolognese, and experiment.
Start your bolognese. Chop onion, carrot and celery and cook down in olive oil.
When vegetables are sweated out, and before they brown, add your ground meat on a medium heat.
When your meat has lightly browned. Add a Jar of Monte’s Sauce and turn to a low simmer.
Start your bechamel, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
In a deep baking dish, begin to structure your lasagna. Start with a layer of sauce on the bottom and then your lasagna noodles to cover. Then a layer of bolognese, then drizzle bechamel, and a handful of grated cheese. Repeat this process until you have used all ingredients and dish is full.
Once you have stacked all layers of lasagna, add a jar of Monte’s sauce across the top and thin sliced fresh mozzarella to cover.
Bake at 400 degrees until all cheese is melted and noodles cooked. Test by poking a knife gently through the middle, it should feel soft all the way through.
IMPORTANT: Let lasagna sit for 15-20 minutes to cool down before cutting and serving for clean (not messy and oozy) pieces. Use a knife to cut out squares and gently scoop with a flat spatula for best results.
