The Italian Lasagna

When it comes to lasagna, as a born-and-raised in Italy girl, I'm always a bit skeptical. There are countless versions of lasagna, everyone likes to personalize it with whichever ingredient they might like. But the original Italian version it's extremely rare to be found outside of Italy. So, if you would like to try and prepare the real lasagna I suggest you avoid relying on non-Italian recipes. I'll write here all the steps you need to follow in order to prepare it properly.

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P. S. Since I'm vegetarian, the sauce I'm going to describe is without minced meat but keep in mind that it is widely used.

First of all, it takes time to make a good lasagna. Recipes usually suggest to skip some steps and buy, for example, already made bechamel. Well, I strongly suggest you don't do that, because the taste is going to be completely different.

Ingredients

• 500 gr. sliced pasta for lasagna (2 cups and a half)
• 1 l bechamel
• 4 to 5 cups tomato sauce
• 4 sliced mozzarella
• 100 gr. parmigiano cheese (half a cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt

In order to make the bechamel, you'll need

• 800 ml milk
• 80 gr. flour (more or less 3 ounces)
• 80 gr. butter (more or less 3 ounces)
• 80 gr. parmigiano cheese (more or less 3 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Proceed with the making of the bechamel. It's the thing that takes the most time and it's the most difficult, too. Start with melting the butter in a pot. Stir in the flour while the pot is still on the stove and mix for a few minutes, then add milk. Don't stop mixing it. After more or less ten minutes add oil, salt, pepper and the nutmeg while still mixing. For an extra taste add the grated parmigiano cheese and let it melt with the rest of the ingredients. Leave the pot on the stove - I suggest you lower the heating power, otherwise it will probably burn - and mix the sauce from time to time, in order not to have lumps. Do this until the bechamel thickens. Then take the pot off the stove and cover it. The thickened bechamel sauce should look like this.

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Take a baking tray and use a bit of softened butter to soothe it. In the meantime, put water in a pot and make it boil. When it boils, put the pasta slices inside, and make them soften just so they won't break while assembling the lasagna.

Create a layer of pasta in the baking tray. Add a spoonful or two of bechamel - depending on how large the baking tray is - then add a layer of tomato sauce and after that a layer of mozzarella slices. Repeat the whole assembling sequence until the ingredients run over. Add the parmigiano cheese on top.

Preheat the oven at 180° Celsius degrees - 360° Fahrenheit - then put the baking tray inside. Let the lasagna cook for approximately twenty-five minutes and then take it out.

Aaand that's how it will look on the inside - if you add basil on top!

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Looks tasty, right? Well if you've followed all the steps I've written here, I bet it really is.

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Buon appetito!

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