Authentic Italian Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce

Have you made lasagna with bechamel sauce before but wonder how the authentic Italian recipe is really made? If that’s you right now, this recipe will remove any doubts and give you a set of easy steps to follow to make a truly flavourful, meaty, and home-style authentic Italian lasagna.

Also, don’t worry, the sauce might take some time to simmer but the actual prepping is quite quick. Plus we promise it’s going to be the best lasagne in Dublin.

Let’s make it.

How to Make a Lasagne

There are 5 simple steps in making lasagne. See them listed below:

1. Prepare the vegetables for the soffritto base for your beef ragu
2. Make your lasagna meat sauce
3. Make your bechamel sauce
4. Assemble the lasagna layers
5. Bake your Italian lasagne

How to Make Lasagna with White Sauce

We hear this question a lot, so let me answer it here.

The authentic lasagna recipe features a white sauce, but that’s technically called a bechamel sauce. The difference between the two lies in the ingredients used to make them. The white sauce usually uses a cooking cream while the bechamel sauce is made with butter, flour and milk by forming a roux.

Bechamel sauce vs White Sauce

Bechamel sauce is thicker and more flavourful, thanks to the flour and butter. It’s the perfect rich sauce to accompany a lasagna dish.

Lasagna Origin

Its origins date back to ancient Rome, where thin sheets of baked pasta, known as “laganon” and “laganum,” were filled with meat and cooked in the oven. The dish gained popularity throughout history, becoming a favorite during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The term “lasagne” was first recorded in writing in 1282 within the “Rime dei Memoriali bolognesi,” a collection of poetic works transcribed by Bologna’s notaries. However, the first book that demonstrated how to prepare a lasagna took another 50 years to be created. I am referring to the “Liber de coquina,” believed to have originated in Naples, the first medieval cookbook we know of.

The two cities often associated with lasagna’s birth are Bologna and Naples, although every Italian region has its unique version.

Why is Lasagna Famous in Italy?

Italians have a deep love for lasagna due to its rich history, diverse variations, and comforting flavors. The dish holds cultural significance and evokes fond memories of family gatherings and traditional meals.

Italian families continue to enjoy lasagna on special occasions and everyday gatherings, making it a symbol of comfort and togetherness.

I must also add that the beauty of this old lasagna dish lies in its diversification. There are many ways to make it, variations of ingredients to use, and every family has its own version of the traditional recipe that’s usually passed from one generation to the next.

Authentic Lasagne Recipe from Italy

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Ingredients for the ragu’

1 carrot
1 onion
1 celery stick
Belmorso Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Novello)
500 gr minced beef
200 ml white wine
700 ml tomato passata
salt and pepper
1.4 litres water
1 vegetable stock
3 bay leaves

Preparing the ragu’

Take your vegetables, wash them, peel them and cut them finely.

Add them to a large pot, drizzle some Belmorso Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and put on the hob to sauté. This will make your soffritto, which is the base for ragu’/bolognese sauce, and most sauces and soups.

Leave to sauté for around 15 minutes, lowering the heat after the first 2 minutes.

Then add the minced meat, both the pork and the beef, mix and leave to cook with the soffritto.

After about 10 minutes, add the white wine, mix and leave to evaporate for another 5 to 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your vegetable stock mixing it in with the water.

Once the wine has nearly absorbed into the meat, you can add the tomato passata.

Mix it in with all the ingredients and season.

Then add half the vegetable stock and mix again.

Finally, add the bay leaves, and cover with the lid. Make sure to leave a small gap on the side of the lid and lower the heat.

Leave your ragu’ to simmer for an hour.

After that first hour, add the remaining vegetable stock, mix, and leave to simmer for one more hour.

After the second hour has passed, your sauce is ready.

Leave it to cool, and then taste it. If it needs it, you can add more salt and pepper.

PS: If you are going to make the sauce the day before you prepare your lasagna, add 1.4 litres of water instead of 700 ml after the first hour has passed. The reason for this is that resting the ragu’ in the fridge for nearly a day, or just overnight, will cause it to thicken, and you won’t have enough sauce for a large lasagna.

Ingredients for the bechamel sauce

1 litre milk
100 gr butter
100 gr flour
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preparing the bechamel sauce

Take two medium-size pots. In one pour the milk, season with salt and pepper, and add the pinch of nutmeg. Put the pot on the hob to heat up the milk.

In the other pot melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, add all of the flour at once, and mix rigorously so as to form a roux.

Pay attention to your milk, you don’t want it to boil.

Add the milk to the roux little by little while you continue mixing.

Once you have added all of the milk, continue mixing for 5 minutes.

Your bechamel sauce should be now thick but not too thick, and lump-free.

Ingredients for the lasagna layers

Grated parmesan cheese

Artisan lasagna sheets

The Ragu or bolognese sauce you prepared

The bechamel sauce you just made

Preparing the lasagna with bechamel sauce

Take one large dish or two smaller ones and spread some ragu’.

Then, start layering the lasagna sheets.

Follow with another layer of ragu’ or bolognese sauce.

Top with one layer of bechamel sauce.

Finish with parmesan cheese.

Repeat at least one more layer, or even two if your dish allows it.

You want to finish with the bechamel and parmesan on top.

Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven.

Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve your homemade lasagna with bechamel sauce and enjoy.

Tips

When cooking the ragu’ or bolognese sauce, try to mash slightly with your spoon the mince, so it doesn’t cluster into big lumps. These are tasty but they take space and result into fewer lasagna layers. Alternatively, you can use a very deep dish.

Any leftovers are delicious enjoyed in the next few days.

Many people also freeze lasagna, but we don’t suggest it.