Common Questions
Do you put lasagne sheets in raw?
I don’t recommend using raw lasagna sheets. Especially if you use freshly made pasta. Best to blanch fresh pasta in boiling water until it floats: this way your sheets will harden up, and won’t dissolve into a mushy mess For dry or refrigerated commercial lasagna, if you want to use them, cook them until slightly undercooked. If you follow the suggestions I gave you above, you will end up with the perfect lasagna
What can I use instead of tomato sauce in lasagna?
The base sauces for lasagna are two: ragout, and bechamel. From here, you can then layer the lasagna with other ingredients.
With the bechamel sauce, you can layer
- Bolognese ragout
- Sausage ragout
- Fish
- Vegetables
- Pesto and ricotta
With tomato sauce, you can layer
- Mozzarella
- Ricotta
- Salami and other cured meat
- Meatballs
- Fried or grilled aubergines
- All of the above (for the Neapolitan lasagna)
Can I use passata instead of chopped tomatoes in lasagne?
You can definitely use passata, however don’t use it raw: cook it for 10-15 minutes, until nice and dense. Same for chopped tomatoes, don’t use them raw, cook them for about half an hour to make them less watery.
What goes on the last layer of lasagna?
It depends which kind of lasagna you are making: it’s always either tomato sauce or bechamel sauce (never both), sprinkled with abundant grated parmesan.
How do you soften lasagne sheets without sticking together?
Use a very large pan filled with water. Wait for the the water to boil,and add a lasagna sheet a time. If you put in more, they will stick together. No whirlpool or other trick will work, the pasta is just too big.
