A classic gluten free lasagne with homemade ragu/bolognese and a yummy, cheesy béchamel sauce. 🙂
NOTES:
1) To make your own lasagne sheets from scratch, you can use my fresh egg pasta recipe here.
2) For a much quicker option on busy days, of course you can buy a pre-made bolognese or make a quick basic one.
3) For this recipe, I used ASDA free from lasagne sheets which turned out perfect.
FOR HOMEMADE LASAGNE SHEETS:
You can check out my RECIPE HERE. It’s much quicker and easier to make than you may think (and absolutely delicious). 🙂
Classic Gluten Free Lasagne / Lasagne al Forno
Author: Kimi
Recipe type: Mains
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- Ragu/bolognese sauce
- Béchamel / white sauce
- 9 to 12 Lasagne sheets (I used ASDA free from)
- Mozzarella
For the ragu/bolognese sauce:
- 2 Tbsp butter (or olive oil)
- 750g minced beef & pork mixture
- 2 large onions
- 3-4 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- A few garlic cloves (optional)
- 2 x 400g canned tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 300ml red or white wine
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 150ml whole milk
- Lots of salt & black pepper
- ½ tsp dijon mustard (optional)
- Optional: herbs of your choice, cayenne pepper, bay leaves
For the béchamel sauce:
- 3 heaped Tbsp salted butter
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch/cornflour (the type you use to thicken sauces)
- 2.5 cups (590g) whole milk
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup grated parmesan
- Black pepper
- Salt
Directions
PREPARE THE RAGU / BOLOGNESE:
- Finely chop the vegetables and pan fry on medium/low heat in olive oil or butter until they soften up (about 5 minutes) and then set aside.
- Pan fry the minced meat on medium heat in a bit more olive oil or butter until browned, then add the wine and cook for a few more minutes.
- Add the cooked vegetables back into the pan along with the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock cubes, mustard and seasonings.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium/low and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has reduced. Near the end, add the milk and keep cooking until the sauce has reduced. Note: if necessary at any point during the cooking process, add a bit of water.
PREPARE THE BÉCHAMEL / WHITE SAUCE:
- Melt the butter on low heat in a non-stick pan.
- Add the cornflour and mix well.
- Then add the milk, little by little, stirring constantly with a whisk. Keep adding a bit more milk as the sauce thickens and make sure there are no lumps.
- Once all the milk has been added and the sauce has thickened, stir in the grated parmesan along with the nutmeg and as much salt and black pepper as you’d like.
- Once the cheese has fully melted, take your pan off the heat and set aside.
PARBOIL THE LASAGNE SHEETS:
- Bring a large pan of water (with a generous dash of salt) to boil.
- Cook your lasagne sheets one small batch at a time to prevent them sticking together. I usually only 3 to 4 at a time. Cook them for about 3 minutes, until they start to soften up and are somewhat floppy, but still relatively solid. Also, make sure stir on and off so they don’t stick together.
- Fish them out with tongs or a sieve and set aside on a plate.
ASSEMBLE YOUR LASAGNE:
- Add a very thin layer of bolognese at the bottom of your oven dish.
- Place one layer of part-boiled lasagne sheets on top.
- Then add a layer of bolognese followed by a layer of white sauce spread thinly and evenly on top.
- Repeat twice with the rest of the pasta and sauces.
- Then finally, cover the top of your lasagna with a good layer of grated mozzarella.
COOK YOUR GLUTEN FREE LASAGNE:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C (356F).
- Wrap your lasagne with foil to prevent the top from burning.
- Bake for about 50 minutes and take the foil off about 15 minutes before to end to allow for the cheese brown a little.
Kimi x
