
Homemade lasagna with no pre-cooked noodles
Homemade lasagna bolognese with ground meat, vegetables, tomato pulp and creamy béchamel. There's no need to pre-cook the lasagna sheets, since they soften during baking thanks to the juicy sauce.
Prep time
35 min
Cook time
40 min
Total
1 godz. 15 min
Servings
6
Difficulty
Średni
Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 700 gground meat
- 200 gcarrot
- 200 gceleriac
- 2 szt.onion (small pieces)
- 2 ząbkigarlic
- olive oil (for frying)
- 500 gtomato pulp (you can use 400-500 g)
- 2 czubate łyżeczkitomato paste
- 250 gwater (in place of red wine)
- fresh basil (a few leaves)
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- sugar (optional, to balance the acidity of the tomatoes)
Béchamel
- 650 gmilk
- 60 gwheat flour
- 50 gbutter
- 130 gparmesan (you can leave some aside for sprinkling on top)
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- nutmeg (to taste)
Also needed
- 250 glasagna sheets (dry, no pre-cooking needed)
Instructions
- 1
Finely dice the carrot, celeriac, onion and garlic.
- 2
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the diced vegetables and fry for a few minutes, until they soften slightly and become fragrant.
- 3
Add the ground meat and fry until it changes color. Season with salt and pepper.
- 4
Add a few leaves of fresh basil, the tomato pulp, tomato paste and water. Mix thoroughly.
- 5
Simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes, until it thickens slightly but is still juicy. This matters, since the dry lasagna sheets need moisture to soften while baking.
- 6
Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Pour the milk into a pot, add the flour and mix thoroughly so there are no lumps.
- 7
Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and becomes creamy.
- 8
Finally, add the parmesan to the béchamel and mix.
- 9
In a baking dish, layer: a bit of meat sauce, dry lasagna sheets, meat sauce, béchamel, and lasagna sheets again.
- 10
Keep layering until you run out of ingredients. Béchamel should be the top layer. If you saved some parmesan, sprinkle it over the top.
- 11
Bake at 180-190°C, top-bottom heat, for about 35-40 minutes, until the lasagna sheets are soft and the top is lightly browned.
- 12
After baking, let the lasagna rest for 10-15 minutes. This helps it slice cleanly and keeps it from falling apart right out of the oven.
Tip
There's no need to pre-cook the lasagna sheets. What matters is that the meat sauce is juicy and the béchamel is creamy, since that's what lets the pasta soften while baking.
Common mistake
The most common mistake is a meat sauce that's too dry. If the sauce is too thick before baking, the lasagna can turn out dry and the pasta sheets may not soften evenly.
Serving suggestion
Serve after 10-15 minutes of resting, ideally with a simple green salad, cherry tomatoes or a light slaw. Lasagna also tastes great reheated the next day.
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