How to Make a Great Lasagna (Plus 11 essential cooking skills)
One of the world's most beautiful and most famous Italian dishes, lasagna is a true classic that, as a born-and-raised Texas kid, led me to believe that all Italian food is various forms of pasta, tomato sauce, and cheese.
Today, I am going to share my tips on how to make a delicious lasagna at home and also share 11 basic, essential cooking skills that, once you know how to do them, you will find yourself able to cook almost anything!
Let’s get started.
The first component I will focus on is the meat sauce, also known as bolognese. You could skip the meat and make a tasty tomato sauce, but I am a carnivore. I will begin with a classic vegetable base.
Cooking skill #1: Mirepoix (pronounced meer-eh-poah)
Mirepoix is a French vegetable medley that is made with one part onion, two parts carrot, and two parts celery. It doesn’t have to be this exact ratio, but that is a good general guideline. You won’t taste these individual vegetables in the final dish, but they’ll give a base of flavor that will carry out through the whole sauce.
By the way, if you swap the carrots for green bell peppers, you will have a classic Cajun medley known as the Holy Trinity, commonly used for gumbo and other stews or soups.
Cooking skill #2: Mise en place
Translating into ‘put in place’, mise en place means doing as much as possible before you start cooking. For example, chop your vegetables or herbs, prepare your protein, and make sure you have all the necessary ingredients; you wouldn’t want to be halfway through cooking to find out you’re missing a key ingredient. I will demonstrate this by explaining how to chop your mirepoix.
To chop an onion, (Don’t cry about it because it is easy) start by cutting off the top but leave the root on; this will keep the onion together as you chop. Next, cut the onion in half from the root down, then peel off the papery skin.
Tilt your knife horizontally, and make a few cuts 3/4 of the way to the root (two or three, depending on the size of your onion); then, with the root facing away from you, slice the onion in an up-and-down motion, following the lines of the onion as a guide and not going all the way through. If you’re new to the knife, then take your time with this step, take your time and make sure each slice is even.
Once you’ve reached the other side of the onion, turn it 90 degrees, making the root face away from your dominant hand, and, rocking your knife up and down, chop the onion to get a lovely dice. Once you get closer to the root, lay the onion down on the cut side and continue to cut. Remember, the only part of the onion we don’t eat is the root and skin; anything else that’s wasted is wasted money.
For carrots, start by cutting off both ends and using a vegetable peeler to shave off the outer skin. Next, cut the carrot down the middle, then, depending on the size of your carrot, cut those halves into either halves or thirds. Once that is done, cut down the slices to give you a wonderful chop.
For celery stalks, start the same way by cutting off the ends, then slice lengthwise three or four times, depending on the size of your stalk. Cut the slices down, and you’ll get a nice chop.
Ok, vegetables are prepped; let’s move on to the next cooking skill.
Cooking Skill #3: Searing meat
As I mentioned, I am a carnivore and am not afraid to say it. I like using a pound of ground chuck or 80/20 ground beef for lasagna, but if I want to mix things up, I’ll swap half of the beef with ground Italian sausage for extra flavor.
To start cooking the meat, heat some oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or another heavy-bottom saucepan, then add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and break it up with a wooden spoon as you go. Hey, that brings me to the next critical skill.
Cooking Skill #4: Seasoning
Without question, the best way to enhance the flavor of whatever you are cooking is by seasoning as you go. If you wait until the sauce is ready and have already assembled the lasagna, it will be too late to ensure your sauce is seasoned correctly. Also, if you add salt at the end of making the sauce, you may end up overcompensating and end up with a salty sauce.
You can season the sauce a little bit at a time, taste as you go, and adjust accordingly.
Here is where people can mess up; they cook the meat until it turns grey, then start building their sauce, or even worse, they’ll pour out the liquid that leaks out as the meat cooks, thinking that it’s the fat from the meat. The truth is that this liquid isn’t fat; it’s water that ground meat leaks as it cooks. You’ve seen what happens when meat boils versus searing in fat, so I think you would understand that this liquid is water.
You don’t need to pour out this liquid; instead, you’ll want to let this water cook and evaporate until you start to hear the meat sizzle; that noise means that the meat is frying in its fat, and that will give you crispy brown bits that will enhance the flavor of your sauce. The whole process should take at least 5 minutes.
You wouldn’t want a burger that is grey and tasteless, so why are you doing that to your ground beef? The meat above is brown, caramelized, and looks great!
While the meat cooks, let me tell you about a boring but all-important cooking skill.
Cooking skill #5: Sanitation and safety
Raw meat is full of bacteria and disease, especially if it’s cheap grocery store meat, and you want to make sure that the food you make is as safe as possible to eat, especially if you’re serving others. The most important step to ensure that your food is safe is by washing your hands, especially after you touch raw protein.
Start by rinsing your hands under warm water, then lather on some soap; I prefer to use liquid soap when cooking as bar soaps tend to hold onto bacteria. Make sure you scrub your hands thoroughly, getting in between your fingers, under your fingernails, along your thumbs, and even the back of your hands.
Once thoroughly scrubbed, rinse your hands and dry them with a paper towel.
Ok, back to cooking. once the meat is seared, add the vegetables and let that cook until they start to soften, it should take about a minute or two. You can also add minced garlic and herbs like rosemary, thyme, or oregano, though I would add these once the vegetables are softened, as garlic can burn easily.
Once the vegetables have softened, it’s time for the 6th cooking skill.
Cooking Skill #6: Deglazing
Deglazing means adding a liquid, usually alcohol, to a pot to rinse the bottom of the pot and help scrape up any brown bits or fond that are stuck to the bottom of the pot. I like using a generous splash of dry white wine as it adds fruity acidity and a touch of sweetness.
Once the wine is added, you’ll want to let that reduce for a few minutes to cook out any harsh alcohol flavor, almost to the point where the pot seems dry.
Once the alcohol has mostly evaporated, you’ll want to add a few tablespoons of tomato paste; this will help thicken the sauce and add extra tomato flavor, although you do want to let the tomato paste cook out for a minute to get rid of any tannic, acidic flavors that tomato paste tends to have.
It’s then time to add your tomatoes; I like using two large cans of crushed tomatoes as they’re convenient and have a nice flavor. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then let it cook for at least 2 hours to cook out the acidity in the tomatoes and allow all of the flavors to get to know each other, stirring occasionally.
With that, you have the next essential cooking skill.
Cooking skill #7: Making a meat/tomato sauce.
Knowing how to make a delicious sauce like this can lead to many great pasta dishes.
Ok, while the sauce is simmering, let’s move on to my favorite component of lasagna and the next cooking skill.
Cooking skill #8: Fresh pasta
There is nothing wrong with using dried pasta, but if you have the time and want to impress your family and friends, fresh pasta is the way to go. I mentioned the basics of making pasta in my ‘How to Use Different Pasta Shapes’ article, so I will keep this short with an easy food processor method.
In a food processor, combine 24 ounces (about 3 cups) of all-purpose flour, four whole eggs, three egg yolks, three tablespoons of olive oil, and one teaspoon of salt. Pulse until a tacky dough forms, then dump onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Shape the dough into a disc, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.
Cut the dough into quarters, then, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll with the largest setting of a pasta roller to make it smoother, dusting with flour as you go. Turn the knob of the roller down one notch at a time, and continue rolling until the dough is almost transparent.
Cut the dough according to the length of the pan you plan on baking the lasagna in (You’ll want to make it slightly shorter because it will expand as it cooks).
Cook each sheet in a shallow pot of salted simmering water until each sheet floats to the surface of the water, you’ll want to work with one pasta sheet at a time.
Take the sheets out of the water, lay on clean kitchen towels to dry, and let them cool until you assemble your lasagna.
Alright, the pasta’s done; time for the final component of the lasagna, the bechamel sauce. American palates are likely used to a ricotta mixture in their lasagna, but in Northern Italy, aka the closer you get to France, you’ll find that it’s traditional to use a creamy, white cheese sauce along with the meat sauce.
Cooking skill #9: Roux
To get your bechamel sauce started, you’ll want to make a concoction of equal parts butter and flour, known as a roux, to thicken the sauce. The longer you cook a roux, the darker it becomes, and the more of a nutty, toasty flavor it takes on; it’s great for things like gumbo. However, for bechamel, you want a blonde roux that is only cooked for a minute.
In a medium saucepan, melt down half a stick (four tablespoons) of butter, then whisk in the same amount of flour. You will want to cook the roux for 30 seconds to a minute to cook out the raw flour taste, but that’s about it.
Cooking skill #10: Bechamel sauce
Once the roux is ready, you’ll want to add one cup of milk. It’s important to add the milk a little bit at a time, constantly whisking, to prevent the roux from getting lumpy and ensure a smooth sauce. Once all of the milk is added, let the sauce simmer until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
This sauce is good on its own, but for lasagna, you have to get some cheese involved. Any hard Italian cheese like parmesan or pecorino will work wonderfully, but you do want to make sure to grate the cheese by hand, an easy step with the tiny holes of a box grater or a microplane.
Whisk the grated cheese into the sauce, taste it, and adjust accordingly.
Ok, we have our components, now comes the exciting part, building our lasagna.
To start, rub a thin layer of olive oil on the bottom of a large baking pan to prevent the lasagna from sticking. Next, lay enough sheets of pasta to cover the bottom of the pan, then top with a layer of the meat sauce and a layer of bechamel.
Repeat the last step until you either run out of components or until the pan is entirely full, finishing with a generous grating of cheese on top. Next, cover the whole pan with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Once done baking, let the lasagna rest for at least 30 minutes to make it cooler and help make for a cleaner slice. I like to garnish with some sliced fresh basil for a pop of color and extra flavor.
While the lasagna bakes, I think it’s time that I talk about the final cooking skill that isn’t really a skill but something to think about.
Cooking skill #11: Adapt and adjust.
It is a harsh but true fact that, despite our best efforts, there is a chance that something can go wrong when cooking. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, we are all human, but I think it’s important to know that some hiccups can be rectified.
Here are a few mistakes you could come across and how to fix them.
If you taste your meat sauce and find it to be somewhat bland, instead of adding salt, try adding a pinch of sugar, you don’t need a lot. That will help balance out the acidity in the tomatoes and enhance the flavor of the whole sauce.
If your sauce happens to burn at the bottom, don’t freak out. You can add a splash of water to scrape up any burnt bits, and that could end up enhancing your sauce rather than ruining it.
If your meat sauce does end up becoming salty, do not salt the water for your pasta or add any additional salt to the bechamel (besides the salt from the cheese); this will help it balance out beautifully.
If you’re rolling out your pasta, it starts to tear, fold it again, widen the roller setting if you can, and run it through a few more times.
If your bechamel is a bit lumpy, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer to make it extra smooth.
If your bechamel is too thick, you can always add more milk, but remember that the sauce will thin out slightly as the lasagna bakes.
If the lasagna does happen to fall apart as you cut it, don’t worry about it because odds are it’s still going to taste really good!
Lasagna is a true showstopper that everyone loves, and those 11 cooking skills I mentioned are great tools to help you become a successful and more confident cook.
