More mother sauces, and a whole lot of lasagna

It’s that time of year when everyone’s garden is in full swing and the fresh produce is starting to show up, sometimes on your doorstep in the middle of the night. If you remember my first column, I talked about the five mother sauces, and today I have a recipe that is a great way to learn about two more of the sauces, how to use up some produce and create a delicious family favorite at the same time. Today, we will be learning how to make Lasagna al Forno. To start off we will learn to make a bechamel sauce and a marinara sauce. Like all our recipes, you can substitute ingredients to your preference.

Bechamel:

2 cups heavy cream

15 oz whole milk ricotta

6 oz shredded Parmesan

½ stick salted butter

½ cup flour

As with a lot of our thickened sauces we will start with a roux, which if you recall, is melted butter mixed with flour. To start, melt the butter in a small pan just until the solids melt. Whisk in the flour until it makes a paste —basically peanut butter consistency. Warm the heavy cream over medium heat, in a medium saucepan, until it starts to bubble at the edges. Be careful not to heat it too fast or at too high a temperature or it will get a burned taste — yuck! Once the cream is heated start whisking in the roux until you see it start to thicken — about half the roux. Now, reduce the heat and start gently whisking in the ricotta. Alternate between a whisk full of ricotta and a whisk full of roux until the roux is full incorporated. Now, start alternating between the ricotta and the parmesan until both are gone. You want to make sure that you continue to gently whisk the entire time. This bechamel is also a great base for macaroni and cheese.

Marinara:

1 tbs fresh chopped oregano

1 tbs fresh chopped basil

½ tbs fresh chopped rosemary

½ tbs fresh chopped thyme

--OR-

(2 tbs dried Italian Seasoning)

½ cup finely minced red onion

3 cloves garlic- minced (or 1 tbs chopped garlic)

½ cup red wine

4 cups fresh garden tomatoes- — chopped fine (or 28 oz can crushed tomatoes)

15 oz can tomato sauce

12 oz can tomato paste

1 Tbs granulated sugar

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Optional- 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage or 1 lb. ground beef-browned and drained

Add the olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic and onion to an 8-quart pan on low heat, simmer until the garlic starts to get lightly browned, add the red wine and simmer for a couple of minutes. I only use wine that I would drink with dinner when I cook, no “cooking wines” as these have excess salt. Add your chopped tomatoes and simmer covered for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add your tomato sauce and paste, stir it in well, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and sugar. The sugar helps counter the acids from the tomatoes and gives a nice finish to the sauce. If you want a rich meat sauce, add your browned, drained ground sausage or beef. This is a great general-purpose sauce for pasta!

Now, to assemble the lasagna!

Lasagna:

1 lb. Lasagna noodles

8 oz shredded mozzarella

16 oz fresh mozzarella

8 oz pizza cheese

6 oz shredded parmesan

Cook the noodles until they are pliable and bend easily, gently stirring frequently. Drain and oil with a little olive oil so they don’t stick together. You can use the oven ready noodles, although I prefer the cooked noodles myself. In a 9 x 13 pan — and I will recommend the disposable foil lasagna pans available at the store, they are deeper than a cake pan and are less mess to clean up — spread a layer of marinara, cover with noodles, add another layer of marinara. Then spread a mix of the cheeses until the sauce is covered. Ladle bechamel over the cheese, get good coverage with it, but don’t drown it. Add another layer of noodles and repeat. Very gently press to remove air pockets. Once your pan is close to the top, add a layer of cheese and cover with foil. Save a little marinara to top your pieces with.

Bake at 350 for an hour, remove the foil, turn off the oven and leave it in for another 30 min.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Now pour a glass of the red wine you opened, serve up a generous portion of lasagna and enjoy!

Until next time

Mangia Bene