The best ever lasagna ?
Perfect winter comfort food
A sad looking piece
It’s been freezing this week in Sydney. The sudden change of seasons has been reinforced by the cold snap which has hit us. What’s a sure fire way to keep warm ? I’d avoid the heaters and get stuck into some good comfort food, and what better comfort food is there than lasagna ?
I’ve had Neil Perry’s “Good Food” cook book for a while now. It has a good mix of traditional food with the trademark Neil Perry touch. One of his recipes which has intrigued me for a while is his best ever lasagna. Does the finished product live up to it’s name ?
Recipe : Best ever lasagna
Serves 6
Adapted from Neil Perry : Good Food
Ingredients
9 instant cook lasagne sheets
500g fresh buffalo or cow mozzarella- torn
100g freshly grated parmesan
meat sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion- finely chopped
6 garlic cloves – finely chopped
300g (10 1/2 ounces) pork mince
300g (10 1/2 ounces) veal mince
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
pinch of caster sugar
700ml (24 fl. oz.) tomato passata
400g (14 oz) tinned diced tomatoes
1 large handful basil leaves
bechamel sauce
50g ( 1 3/4 oz) unsalted butter
2 tbsp. plain flour
600ml (21 fl oz) milk
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Find a big lasagna dish
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (375 degrees F/ Gas 5)
To make the meat sauce
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook till fragrant.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add both of the meats and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon for about 4 minutes, or until the meat loses its raw colour but has not browned.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes, then pour in the balsamic vinegar and stir occasionally untill it has almost evaporated.
- Add the sugar and passata and diced tomatoes and allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until it reduces and has started to thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper. Stir through the basil leaves and set the sauce aside.
To make the bechamel
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and stir constantly over the heat, for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Remove pan from the heat and add the milk all at once, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps.
- Return the pan to the heat and continue to whisk constantly, until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble
- Spread one quarter of the meat sauce at the bottom of the lasagne dish. Place 3 of the lasagne sheets over the sauce. Spread another quarter of the sauce over the lasagne, followed by 1/3 of the mozarella.
- Continue to layer the lasagne sheets, sauce and mozarella two more times. Pour the bechamel sauce evenly over the final layer of mozzarella, then sprinkle evenly with the parmesan.
- Cook the lasagne for 30 minutes, or until the cheese has browned and the sauce is bubbling. Remove the lasagne from the oven and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
The verdict ? It’s a good feeling to have lasagna you’ve made yourself. But lasagna is the type of food which takes hours to make but really tastes like spag bowl with copious amounts of cheese. In saying that, it’s one of my favourite comfort foods and I deliberately cooked a massive batch to store in the freezer. It’s perfect for the colder months ahead and just a microwave away from a fantastic meal.
Neil Perry’s lasagna is wonderfully creamy and full of flavour. He also mentions this in his book, but the addition of balsamic vinegar really does shine through and adds a new dimension in flavour. I’d say that it is one of the better lasagna’s I’ve tried, but I try to steer away from it at restaurants as I feel the price doesn’t warrant it being a good restaurant dish.
The recipe looks long but it is incredibly easy. There are essentially 3 parts to the recipe and they all tie in really well. Lastly, lasagna is up there as the best of the best for left overs!
Author
By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
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This article was written on 12 Jun 2009, and is filed under Italian, Recipes.
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The part where you said it’s like a spag bowl with cheese that takes ages to make, that’s exactly how I feel about it sometimes! It is perfect in this weather though. Great idea freezing it for future meals, and I’m intrigued by the addition of balsamic. I think I’ll be doing a lasagne soon!
Steph’s last blog post..Ginger & Spice, Neutral Bay
hehe, totally agree that lasagna makes the best leftovers! i could do with one now
Jen’s last blog post..France: Paris, Nice & Cannes
yum, that’s a great looking lasagna. loving the caramelised golden top too. mmm… comfort food…
Helen’s last blog post..Upside-down pear and macadamia cake
lasagna is easy to make, unless you have to make the pasta yourself, thats when it gets tedious. I did that over the baker challenge, wont in a hurry to roll my own pasta again. I am sure any home cooked lasagna taste better than those bought ones. just lots of cheeseee!!
billy@ATFT’s last blog post..Slow roasted moisture-infused pork rack
I do love lasagne, and the leftover potential probably makes up for the time spent putting it together. I love the sounds of mozzarella and bechamel!
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..The Lone Eater
drooling at sight of your lasagna! Lasagna makes a good winter meal.
Can I have the corner slices where the edge is crispy? haha thats my ultimate favourite part besides the golden topping!
Leona’s last blog post..Ghermez Lives on
Sitting here with two jumpers and a scarf. Is it cold? Why, I hadn’t even noticed ;P
Lasagne is great Winter food. But yeah, I could just as easily go for spag bol too!
Y’s last blog post..Sweet weekendings
Hmm hmm definitely the best leftover food to be! (of course, if you have anything left ;p)
I usually substitute milk with chicken soup stock and add heavy cream. – at this point it’s not bechamel sauce though.
Hmm I sense a lasagna dinner coming up sooooooon.
Yas’s last blog post..Long weekend isn’t long enough.
Looks yum! Lasagne is such an easy to make comfort food for winter – much like shepherd’s pie. So good the next day too. So did you think it deserved it’s bold title then?
.-= Forager´s last blog ..Izakaya style fare at Musashi =-.
I love the corner bits too! Sounds lush and creamy, cheesy!
.-= Reemski´s last blog ..Forbes & Burton, Darlinghurst =-.
mmm that looks great. We make pasta sauce in a huge stock pot and store in portions in the freezer which makes lasagne-making a whole lot quicker! that being said, I haven’t made lasagne since that Daring Bakers challenge when we had to make the whole thing entirely from scratch, pasta included!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..The Counter Burger =-.
Oh yummm warm hearty comfort food indeed! And love love love copious amounts of chhheessse ^^!
.-= FFichiban´s last blog ..Atomic Espresso – Neutral Bay, Sydney =-.
Best ever? Sorry Howard, I beg to differ. Your/Neil Perry’s lasagne looks great, but try using fresh ricotta with egg and parmesan as a topping and you’ll never go back!
.-= Belle@OohLook´s last blog ..Masked revels at Wagaya (and happy birthday) =-.
I’m like Garfield the cat – I’m a sucker for lasagna. We do a version of “World’s Best Lasagna” using sauce made from our own homegrown heirloom tomatoes. It’s really, really good.
Now I’ve got a craving!
.-= Nate´s last blog ..Ahi Limu Poke =-.