Lasagne al forno - Lasagne topped with béchamel and tomato sauce
Recipe for the ultimate restaurant-style lasagne, - gooey and truly indulgent.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 pieces cooked lasagne, - leftover or freshly made
- 200 g grated mozzarella
- Fresh basil, to finish
Tomato sauce
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes or polpa (finely crushed tomatoes)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Béchamel
- 40 g butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1/2 l whole milk
- 100 g Parmesan, grated
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Tomato sauce
- Sweat the onion and garlic in a saucepan with a good glug of olive oil.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and the dried herbs and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, - or until the liquid has evaporated. The flavour gets more intense the longer it cooks.
- Finally, add the fresh basil leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside. You can also blend the sauce if you prefer it completely smooth.
Béchamel
- Melt the butter, stir in the flour and let it cook through for about a minute, - without letting it brown.
- Whisk in the milk a little at a time and bring the sauce to the boil.
- Add the grated Parmesan and nutmeg and let the sauce simmer over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, - stirring regularly so it doesn't catch on the bottom.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and, ideally, let it cool a little so it thickens.
Lasagne al forno
- Place the 4 pieces of lasagne in individual small ovenproof dishes,- they need high sides and must be able to go in the oven or a pizza oven.
- Top the pieces with a generous layer of tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella and then top with béchamel. Pour it down the sides of the lasagne too. If you like, spoon a little more tomato sauce over the top to get just the right mix on top.
- Bake the pieces in the oven at 250 °C, or as hot as your oven will go, until the top and sides are golden and bubbling and the middle of the lasagne is piping hot. The cooking time depends entirely on whether the lasagne is fridge-cold when it goes into the oven or freshly made and still warm. So do use a thermometer and check the middle.I sometimes bake them in our pizza oven or on the barbecue. There they cook at 350-400 °C in the pizza oven and 230-250 °C on the barbecue respectively.If you bake them at high heat in the pizza oven, don't push them too far in, as the tops can darken quickly. So keep an eye on them and move them around a little, - or lower the temperature.
- Serve the pieces topped with fresh basil, - and remember that the dishes are extremely hot.