Juicy Lasagna without Béchamel

A super delicious and juicy lasagna that will earn you many compliments. It will also delight those who usually avoid the famous Italian dish because they dont like béchamel.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 20 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 110 minutes
  • Difficulty: 2
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

Meat sauce

  • 1.5 spoons Oil, olive

  • 2 piece Shallot

  • pieces Meat, pork, smoked bacon

  • 1 pod Garlic, fresh

  • 500 g Meat, beef, ground

  • 1 spoon Tomato, concentrate

  • pieces Salt, table

  • pieces Spices, bay (leaves)

  • 1 piece Carrot, fresh

  • 100 g Parsley, fresh

  • 1 dl Alcohol, Wine, Red

  • 400 g Tomato, pieces - can

  • 1 piece Tomato, red

  • pieces Butter, unsalted

  • 350 g Pasta, Macaroni

  • 100 g Cheese, mozzarella

  • 100 g Cheese, Gouda

Steps

  1. Wash and chop the parsley, wash and grate the carrots. Peel the garlic and shallot (or onion) and finely chop them separately. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Grate both cheeses if you haven't already bought them pre-grated.

  2. Sauté the shallot in oil. Once it becomes translucent, add the diced bacon and continue frying. Towards the end, add the chopped garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the ground meat to the pan and brown it over high heat while stirring constantly.

  3. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste, a pinch of pepper, salt, nutmeg, a bay leaf, a handful of grated carrots, and a handful of chopped parsley to the fried ingredients. Stir, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then pour in a glass of red wine. Reduce the heat and wait for the wine to evaporate.

  4. Add tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan, stir, and simmer the sauce covered over low heat for 45 to 60 minutes. Gradually add the grated carrots and parsley during cooking, and season with salt and pepper as needed.

  5. Take a deep baking dish and grease it with butter. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and lightly salt it. Add the lasagna sheets to the boiling water and cook for half a minute. Be careful not to cook too many sheets at once, as they may stick together. Even if the lasagna sheets are pre-cooked, briefly boil them to soften them.

  6. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of lasagna sheets (arrange them according to the shape of the dish) and spread a little meat sauce over them. Sprinkle with parsley and grated mozzarella. Repeat the process until you run out of ingredients. Finish with a layer of pasta and add a bit more sauce on top to prevent the lasagna from drying out.

  7. Sprinkle grated Gouda over the top of the lasagna. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for about 20 minutes, then increase the temperature to 175-180°C and bake for another 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.

  8. Loosely cover the baked lasagna with foil and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes to cool slightly and set. Cut into desired portions while still warm, serve on plates, and enjoy immediately.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 200.57 kcal
  • Fat: 9.53 g
    • Saturated Fat: 3.71 g
  • Carbohydrates: 17.05 g
    • Sugars: 0.85 g
  • Protein: 9.85 g
  • Fiber: 1.01 g

Advice

Make sure to generously coat the top layer of pasta with sauce to prevent it from drying out and to ensure the cheese melts nicely. We recommend using Gouda as it melts exceptionally well. You can also substitute it with pizza cheese. If any lasagna sheet cracks or breaks in the corner of the baking dish, sprinkle some grated cheese (any kind) over that spot. This will glue the pasta together so the lasagna doesnt fall apart.