Fabio whips up an easy béchamel sauce, then gives us his tricks & tips how to best prepare the ultimate comfort food: a hearty, easy lasagna that will for sure become a regular player at your house.
Tips:
- Another Mother Sauce: Like marinara, béchamel is the foundation to lots of dishes, and is easily transformed and infused with flavor. Use twice as much butter as flour to form the roux. Take the heat away from the sauce as you add milk for perfect consistency.
- Fresh is Best: If you want the perfect lasagna, fresh noodles are the way. Fabio makes the case against "no-boil" noodles: they're too thin and risky, and nobody likes crunchy lasagna!
Béchamel Sauce
Recipe by Fabio Viviani
Yields: 1 ½ quarts sauce
Ingredients:
1 stick (4 oz.) butter
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 quart milk
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Melt butter in deep saucepan.
Reduce heat to low, and mix in flour.
Add nutmeg.
Remove from heat and slowly add milk.
Return to heat and bring to a boil, mixing continuously.
When desired consistency is reached, season with salt and pepper.
Turn off heat, and let the sauce rest for 30 minutes.
Easy Lasagna
Recipe by Fabio Viviani
Yields: 1 9x13 lasagna
Ingredients:
1 batch Fabio's Béchamel Sauce
3 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
1-2 quarts Fabio's Bolognese Sauce
1 batch Fabio's Fresh Pasta, rolled into large sheets
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Method:
Preheat oven to 375°
Fold three cups Parmesan cheese into béchamel sauce.
In a rectangular pan, layer bolognese, pasta sheets, béchamel, pasta sheets, repeating until pan is full. On the very top layer, swirl bolognese and béchamel sauces together.
Top with parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the edges are brown and bubbly.
MANGIA!
