Traditional Lasagne Preparation (sort of) Thanks Marty Zwick!

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
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Made a lasagne completely from scratch last night w/bechamel as opposed to ricotta and a ragu of ground turkey. (Cue Bob Wood)

Rolled out my own pasta dough as well, which was the reason I bought my Atlas machine in the first place.

Although it was more labor intensive, the result was well worth it and the ricotta filling will be my hurry up method from now on.

I remember when Marty first posted this on some other BB and I just didn’t get it. Now I do.

Thanks Marty!

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Do you have the full recipe, or perhaps Martin can post it?

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Nice job, Mark.
I too pulled out my pasta machine yesterday. (What a joy to use).
I made homemade round cheese raviolis.

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I can’t get to it right now and Marty’s post was much more detailed than mine would be, but I’ll put mine up here tonight if he doesn’t post one.

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I love the Emilia-Romagna/Veneto style of lasagna with ragu and bechamel (with a healthy dose of fresh nutmeg in it).

But if you’re going to put ricotta in it (or into your Ravioli for that matter), I highly recommend making your own. SO easy to do and it WAAAYYY better than anything I’ve ever had from a tub.

1 Gallon Whole Milk
1 Quart Buttermilk
Combine in a large pot, med/high heat. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. When it gets to 160, stop stirring. When it gets to 175 the curds form and will separate from the whey - remove from heat. Gently scoop curds with a slotted spoon into a colander lined with cheese cloth, bundle up cheesecloth and allow cheese to drain for 15 minutes (do not squeeze). Enjoy.

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Ryan,
I love fresh ricotta. How much will the recipe yield?

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About 4 cups I think.

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Okay. This looks complicated and it actually is, but don’t be daunted by it. After you do it once, you can figure out how to streamline the whole process.

There are four components.

The pasta dough/sheets
The ragu
The bechamel
The gravy (tomato sauce)

I think traditionally the ragu is also the gravy, but I like using my marinara in addition to the meat sauce.

http://www.wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?p=139113#p139113" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That’s the gravy recipe I posted in September.

Ragu

.5 cup EVO (cooking grade, Bertolli or the ilk)
1.5 cups onion small dice
1.5 cups carrot small dice
1 cup celery small dice
4-5 cloves garlic sliced very thin
2 Tbsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
tsp dried oregano
tsp dried basil
.25 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
2# ground turkey
1 cup dry red wine
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 cups tomato gravy from above recipe

Sweat the vegetables and garlic in the EVO with the salt and pepper. Add in the dry herbs. When the vegetables are softened and translucent, add the turkey and raise the heat. Cook the turkey through browning it a little in the process. Add the red wine and simmer it for 3-5 minutes so it has mostly evaporated.
Add the fresh thyme and the gravy and simmer for about an hour.

The Pasta
3 cup flour (I don’t keep anyting other than All Purpose around, I’m sure Mike P. could recommend betta)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
3 eggs + 1 yolk
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp EVO

Sift the flour and salt together on a work surface and make a well in the mound of flour. Put the eggs, water, and EVO in the well. Using a fork, work the flour into the eggs a little at a time until it is all incorporated. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or more until it becomes a smooth cohesive mass. Form it into a ball, wrap it in plastic and let it rest for an hour.

The Bechamel

1qt. + 2 cups whole milk
.5 cup flour
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. processed mozzarella grated
1 cup grated reggiano

In a 2 qt sauce pan gradually whisk the flour into the milk cold. Heat over a medium flame stirring frequently. As the milk comes close to boiling lower the flame and continue to stir frequently. The milk will thicken at this point enough to coat the back of the spoon well. Continue to allow the milk to barely simmer and season with the Kosher and pepper. Cook this way for about 10 mins then pour the sauce into a 4 qt. stainless bowl. Take handfuls of the grated mozzarella and fold them into the hot milk with wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Once the whole pound is incorporated add in the reggiano the same way. Check for seasoning.

Assembly
Take a 9 x 16 baking dish (the deeper the better) and barely splash the bottom with tomato gravy. Divide the pasta dough ball into quarters. Set up an Atlas or similar pasta machine. Take one quarter of the dough and pass it through the machine on the #1 setting twice, then proceed to take it down one step at a time to #6. Cut the pasta sheet into strips to fit and cover the bottom of the baking dish. Spread a thin layer of meat ragu over that. Spread a thin layer of bechamel over that. Wet it with just a splash of tomato sauce and repeat. You should have enough ingredients to make 4 layers of pasta with 3 layers of filling. Top that with thin slices of fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle more of reggiano. Bake in a 350F for about 90 minutes. Allow to cool for 45 minutes before portioning.

Marty, if you’re out there and you still have your video presentation of this…please do. It puts what I just posted to shame!

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flirtysmile

Guys,

stay tuned, later the day I will post my recipe including photos.

Greetings from Berlin,
Martin

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First, my recipe lacks of chicken liver&milk and meat roasting of 8h, which an italian mamma or hardcore italian freak would do. Anyway it taste good…

Recipe: http://web.me.com/martinbarz/old/berlinkitchen/BerlinKitchen/Entries/2007/11/18_Lasagne.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Preparation: http://web.me.com/martinbarz/old/berlinkitchen/Slideshow_Lasagne.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Cheers,
Martin

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Thanks again Martin!
Now that I have the procedure down, I can play around with it. I have seen different regional variations on the ragu, most include some form of pork which doesn’t work in my house unless I want to eat alone. The big deal was using the bechamel and meat ragu, albeit pavo, instead of ricotta. I love making the fresh pasta though, it’s so much easier to work with than anything dried. I have to try a spinach dough next.

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My wife and I have used Martin’s recipe and it does indeed rock.

JD

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You´re all such kind to me, this saves my day. flirtysmile

I am watching the movie 2012 right now…

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Martin’s recipe looks great - mine is similar, but I just have to put fresh nutmeg in the bechamel - it makes the whole dish come together for me.

And Mark, good luck with the spinach pasta - let us know how it turns out. I’ve only tried it once before and it was great, but I just didn’t think it was worth the extra effort. Maybe if you have a food processor to get the dough to come together, it might be a little easier - I did it all by hand and I didn’t think it would be too much extra work, but I was very, very wrong. It seemed to take forever to knead it into a nice even consistency. If anyone else out there has tips, I am all ears, I would like to try it again if it were a little easier.

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I have a simple solution available to me for $3 per pound, so I don’t bother. http://pastaworks.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Yeah, I hear you. I would say that takes all the romance out of it, but in my experience, there is absoloutely no romance in spinach pasta.

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True enough, but there’s plenty of romance in making the ragu Bolognese. Just the thought makes me salivate.

Hint, from recent experience: It doesn’t freeze well.

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Yes Ryan, to add nutmeg into the bechamel is classic. So far I was not a fan of nutmeg but I am starting to use it. Also for example in a potatoe gratin with lot of cream.

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Years ago my mother got Vincent Prices’ cookbook (yes, that Vincent Price), and his lasagne recipe used a bechamel. I loved it.