Lasagne - Difficult to make?

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Discussion

Trevatanus

Original Poster:

11,109 posts

149 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
So, as part of my new single life, I need to learn to cook.
I have a young lady coming round to dinner in the next couple of weeks, who has requested that I cook Lasagne.
Is there an idiots guide out there?
I realise that there will be the usual Jamie Oliver / BBC recipes, but anyone got any recommendations?


marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Pasta sheets,
Ragout
Bechamel (with optional cheese)


Of those, the pasta's probably the hardest one for a novice to make, so just buy some. If you can do a spag. bol. you can easily do a lasagne.


Atomic GTI

41 posts

106 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Lasagne is about as easy as it gets!

as long as you can make a nice Bolognese and make a white sauce it goes in the oven and becomes a tasty meal.

Bolognese -
Carrot \ Celery \ Onion - Finely chopped and fried down,

Pork Mince \ Beef Mince Brown off in the pan

1 tbl Tomato puree + water to cover, add in a bay leaf or two

stir and simmer till it gets to the right consistency

White sauce

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add flour till it is a paste, then gradually add milk over the heat until it thickens and is enough to layer into your lasagne. an extra touch can be a little nutmeg, but don't over do it!

Then stack the layers up with sheets in between each one!


FredClogs

14,041 posts

160 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
It's easy, but does involve a bit of mess, flower, tomato sauce, sticky cheesy white gloop.

Steak, salad and chips might be less hassle.

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
I cook all the time and anything; Lasagne I seem to really struggle with.

mattdaniels

7,353 posts

281 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Lasagne is one of those dishes that you can make as simple or as complicated as you want - going from completely ready made, to buying the sauces and filling, to making the sauces and filling, to making your own pasta too.

It's also a good "make ahead" dish, so if you're stressed about it (or your date) you can make it the day before and re-heat it.

I've not particular recommendation regarding recipe apart from avoid the Tom Kerridge one as it's your first time. smile

Good luck!

castex

4,935 posts

272 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Try to perfect your ragu first. Use beef, pork and don't forget the garlic. A spoon or two of pesto can't hurt. Make it in advance and let it simmer for ages.
Boil your pasta sheets before assembly if dried (fresh is better and if you can make your own she'll probably want to marry you).
Make loads of bechamel and cover with foil for all but the last 20 mins, as you don't want things drying out in the oven. Cheese on top is pecorino / parmesan.

Output Flange

16,793 posts

210 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
mattdaniels said:
It's also a good "make ahead" dish, so if you're stressed about it (or your date) you can make it the day before and re-heat it.
More than that - it's better if you make it the day before and refrigerate it overnight. Always tastes better the next day.

Edited by Output Flange on Monday 27th June 15:25

RizzoTheRat

25,085 posts

191 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
castex said:
Boil your pasta sheets before assembly if dried (fresh is better and if you can make your own she'll probably want to marry you).
I would personally never bother with this unless making your own pasta, which I assume the OP isn't. Use standard supermarket lasagne dried sheets and layer up with your bolognaise and white/cheese sauce, extra cheese on top and bung in the oven. The dried pasta cooks in the sauce. Really easy dish to make.

ETA: Worth buying OO flour, often marketed as sauce flour or pasta flour, for making the sauce, much easier to ensure your sauce isn't lumpy.



Edited by RizzoTheRat on Monday 27th June 15:30

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

151 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
It's actually not so difficult.

Just follow the recipie properly and its easy.

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/gordons-classic-lasa...

Just read it first and figure out timings! You can get it all ready during the day and just bung it in the oven when the lady one is attempting to impress comes over!

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
P.S. - since nobody seems to have mentioned this - she already knows lasagne's an easy one. She's being kind to you. Make sure the rest of the house is clean & tidy, the laundry's done and you have a plan for breakfast wink

sherman

13,067 posts

214 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
If you are really struggling Dolmio do a lasagne kit.
Lasagne is really easy to make though. I find that simmering the bolognase for at least an hour helps to soften the mince up nicely.

BoRED S2upid

19,641 posts

239 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Make the ragu from scratch hundreds of recipes out there cook it for ages that's the trick, buy everything else don't be trying to make a white sauce. Assemble it all the night before and leave in the fridge for flavours to develop then all you need to do it chuck it in the oven. Don't forget wine garlic bread bit of green salad and jobs a good un.

Trevatanus

Original Poster:

11,109 posts

149 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
marshalla said:
P.S. - since nobody seems to have mentioned this - she already knows lasagne's an easy one. She's being kind to you. Make sure the rest of the house is clean & tidy, the laundry's done and you have a plan for breakfast wink
We did breakfast last Saturday at the Brickmakers smile

RizzoTheRat

25,085 posts

191 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
BoRED S2upid said:
don't be trying to make a white sauce.
White sauce is really easy, just remember to keep stirring it regularly. Worth having a go prior to the big day though to make sure you know what you're doing. Good options to practice would be cauliflower cheese, or gammon steak with parsley sauce.

C0ffin D0dger

3,440 posts

144 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
As others have said you can make it as simple or complex as you like. My wife's version is very speedy, just a basic bolognese sauce + a white sauce with cheese in. Layer it up in a dish using the dried lasagne sheets that cook whilst the dish is in the oven. More cheese on top and bake. Her take on it is okay and perfectly edible but I prefer to put a bit more effort in.

The one I really used to like was in a Jamie Oliver book, not exactly a traditional recipe but nice to eat. The meat sauce was made with beef and pork mince and slow cooked in the oven for several hours. The lasagne also had some spicy roasted butternut squash in one (or two?) of the layers. The white sauce was a low effort job of creme fraiche with chopped anchovies and parmesan mixed in. The whole thing once built was topped with a generous quantity of mozzarella. I used to use fresh pasta sheets from the supermarket. It was a lot of effort to make but really tasty.

21TonyK

11,494 posts

208 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Personally, if you are learning to cook, I would just buy decent readymade sauces and pimp it up. Add a little nutmeg and extra parmesan on the top. Bung loads of fresh herbs in the tomato sauce and use a mixture of pork and beef mince.

And, as others have said. Make it the day before. It's much better reheated and it will hold together on the place. Plus, it makes the evening much more relaxing and you can focus on a decent salad to go with it and a nice antipasto to kick things off.

Fastchas

2,640 posts

120 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Single eh?
Hairy Bikers are your friend. There's some excellent, easy recipes in their books. I particularly like their Spanish Chicken. So easy to prepare and cook, the oven-based recipe means you only visit the oven twice and it's cooked! Great to eat with a new cutie as well...better than messy lasagne.

NordicCrankShaft

1,721 posts

114 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
FredClogs said:
It's easy, but does involve a bit of mess, flower, tomato sauce, sticky cheesy white gloop.

Steak, salad and chips might be less hassle.
I like to put daffodils in mine :P

snotrag

14,446 posts

210 months

Monday 27th June 2016
quotequote all
Wouldn't normally recommend a 'diet' anything, but slimming world recipe lasagne is really really tasty and a doddle to make.