2 Comments on The BEST 7 Layer Lasagna!
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Gourmet Italian classic that is elevated with homemade Bolognese and béchamel sauce. Truly a work of art. The holy grail of lasagna if you will. Yep, it is that fabulous! I hope you will agree.
Although it is an Italian dish, here in America, I feel it has been served at everyone’s table. Whether it be homemade or the frozen kind from the grocery store. The 1st recipe resemblance of lasagna was written in the 14th century! Can you believe that? There are many ways to prepare the dish depending on where you live but the absolute best, melt in your mouth, is with thin sheets of pasta, creamy béchamel, a mozzarella and gruyere cheese combo, and a 4-hour Bolognese sauce. BELISIMA!
Just look at those creamy layers! This is a labor of love and completely worth it. A great weekend meal, for a special occasion, or for dinner guests. Once you get the sauce going it is easy to keep an eye on. Just check it every hour and add water. The 4 hours are essential to getting the perfect melt in your mouth texture and incredible flavor. Towards the end of the sauce being ready we get the béchamel prepared for layering.
A couple of cheats to make this easier is I HIGHLY recommend buying premade lasagna/pasta sheets. You can get them from most grocery stores. I bought mine here in the Pacific NW from New Seasons. Secondly is buying shredded gruyere and mozzarella. Saves lots of time.
Lastly and this is optional but to set this baby off I like to buy a jar of TRUFF pasta sauce and brush some of the lasagna sheets. I then use it as a layering sauce before plating. It absolutely soars this dish to the moon! Now that being said, if you do not want to do that, I promise it’s incredible without. That is just my little secret so do what you want with that.
Let us get started!
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The BEST 7-Layer Lasagna!
Homemade Bolognese, béchamel, and cheese sandwiched between sheets of pasta will make all your gourmet lasagna dreams come true.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time50 minutes mins
Bolognese Sauce4 hours hrs
Total Time5 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: alfredo pasta, bechamel, bologonese sauce, italian, italian classic, italian cooking, italian food, lasagna, pasta sauce, TRUFF
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
- 1/2 red onion, minced
- 1 1/2 carrot, peeled, chopped small
- 2 celery sticks, chopped small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef you can add 1/2 lb of ground pork or Italian sausage if you like too.
- 1 tsp salt and pepper plus more if needed I taste throughout cooking
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 7 oz peeled whole tomatoes I love Cento san marzano brand
- 1 24oz/24.5oz Jar of Passata (tomato puree) I use MUTTI brand
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
Béchamel (Besciamella)
- 6 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup cupgrated parmesan Reggiano cheeseparmesan cheese
Lasagna
- 7 sheets of lasagna pasta Most containers come in 8 sheets, and you can certainly use all if you like.
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 jar TRUFF pasta sauce (can be purchased in some stores or online) completely optional as I realize it is not in everyone's budget. The lasagna is still killer without!
- fresh parsley, minced garnish
Instructions
Bolognese
Start here.
Chop and prep the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic
In a large stock pot add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and set to medium heat
Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes
Next goes the garlic, celery, and carrot. Sauté for 4-5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes are up, add the meat then season with 1 tsp or salt and 1tsp. pepper. Cook mixing up into small meat pieces until no longer pink.
After most of the liquid is gone add the 1/2 cup of red wine.
Cook until almost evaporated and then goes the passata, To the passata bottle, fill 1/4 way full of water, shake up and pour into the pot. Cannot waste any goodness!
Next to the party is the whole tomatoes and tomato paste.
Turn the heat to low and give it a good stir.
Let the sauce cook for 1 hour uncovered on low. Mix every 20 minutes or so.
After 1 hour add 2 cups of hot water, stir, and let cook for another hour.
This step is especially important as this is how we achieve that melt in your mouth bite that you get in a fancy restaurant. Trust the process!
Okay hour 3, add the Italian seasoning, stir well, and give it a taste to see if you need to add more salt and pepper
Now add 1 more cup of water, stir and let it do its thing. Cook for 30 more minutes,
Remember to stir every 20 minutes or so.
In the last 15 minutes of cooking, I like to get the béchamel sauce going.
Béchamel
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth.
Cook for about 5 minutes or until it begins to turn light brown.
Add the 1 1/2 cups milk and whisk, bring to a boil.
Add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese,
1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.
Continue to whisk until thickened, about 7-8 minutes, Set aside
NOTE* we want a smooth silky texture that resembles gravy. It will thicken after it cools.
Set it aside.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 350°
Spray a medium sized baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Remove Bolognese from the heat. It should be thick and beautiful
Okay let's make this masterpiece!
To start, add a small amount of sauce to the baking dish. About 1/2 cup. Spread on the bottom of the pan.
Now layer with a sheet of pasta
To the top of that sheet goes the Bolognese sauce. Cover all the pasta sheet but a thin layer. Remember we want to get 7 layers here so not too chunky of layers.
The next step is to add some dollops of the béchamel. Keep in mind this will spread/melt while cooking and is very rich. You can see in the photo how I layer it on.
Now add a light sprinkle of mozzarella and gruyere cheese.
Again, light, thin layers are the goal.
Remember the cheese will spread so a light hand here. I like to start with a bit of mozzarella and just a sprinkle of gruyere as is it extraordinarily rich.
Now add another pasta sheet and repeat.
Keep in mind while layering to make the ingredients as even as possible,
You do not want a bunch centered in the middle and leave the edges raw. Spread evenly to the edges and try to make it consistent.
Once you get to the last layer, spread with a small amount of Bolognese sauce, béchamel, and finish off with remaining cheese.
Cover loosely with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, remove the foil and cook for 20 more minutes.
Let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Leftover Béchamel: set aside and reheat after the lasagna is cooked. I like to top each serving with a little and then with parsley.
If you do not have any leftover béchamel, no problem. Just serve and garnish with parsley.
If you have leftover Bolognese filling, refrigerate, and eat with cooked pasta for lunch later in the week or for dinner with a side salad.
ENJOY!
*TRUFF
(If not using skip)
If you are using the TRUFF, I like brush a few of the pasta sheets with the sauce, then continue with the layering. I do not heat it, just brush straight from the jar,
Then before plating I add a nice dollop on the plate for the lasagna to sit in.
You will have lots left over and absolutely do not want it to go to waste. I recommend adding it to any remaining Bolognese sauce you may have and eating it on pasta noodles later in the week. You can never have too much pasta! Btw it;s so good after a few days!
