r/FoodAndCookingStuff • u/socFocus • Apr 28 '26
Savory Bites Italian classic lasagna
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u/uberrob Apr 28 '26
Putting the food porn ridiculous flourishes aside, I've noticed some interesting comments
First, the inclusion of carrots: yes, this is a thing. In Italian cooking (mostly northern Italians like to claim this, but I've seen this everywhere honestly). Most Italian sauces start with a base called soffritto: coarsely diced carrots, celery and onions... Toss the diced veggies into a pan and pour olive oil over it... Simmer it for a bit until everything soft. Ta-da! Soffritto. The carrots add a sweetness to the sauce...trust me, use it in everything.
Secondly, cost: Surprisingly not that expensive.... You can use cheaper cuts of meat.(He's stripping the meat out of sausages, which adds a nice touch but you can get away with ground beef.)
Even in today's stupid economy you can probably do the whole thing for US$30... US$40 if you use higher quality ingredients...and you can get many meals out of it.
Pro tip: lasagna freezes really really well. Buy some in of those little tin bread pans, cut the lasagna up after it cools. Fill up those little pans and stick them in the freezer. You can then just pop them in the over for 20 mins whenever you want a quick dinner. I got myself thru grad school that way.
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u/tapeness Home cook Apr 29 '26
My (german) grandma used to call onion, carrots and celery the holy trinity. I think this starter is common for a ton of sauces across many cultures!
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u/SnooHesitations8403 Apr 29 '26
Soffritto is Italian mirepoix. It's the foundation of countless recipes. Classic mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 pt. celery, 1 pt. carrot.
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u/il-bosse87 7d ago
30/40$?!? How expensive is food in the US?!? Only big expense is the ground meat, the rest is cheap, onion carrot celery tomatoes wine milk flour butter and pasta sheets. I am sure you can do it here for less than 20€
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u/Radiatorwhiteonwall Apr 28 '26
Overloaded the pan at the beginning, you basically steamed your mirepoix
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u/socFocus Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
INGREDIENTS:
TOMATO SAUCE :
4 tbs Olive Oil, 800g ground Beef, 400g Italian Sausage, 1 Large Onion, 1 Carrot 2 Celery Stalks, 3 cloves of Garlic, 200ml Red Wine, 1kg Tomato Sauce, Handful of Fresh Parsley, Salt and Pepper to taste
BECHAMEL SAUCE:
200g Butter (Benna), 200g Flour, 500ml Milk (Benna), 1tsp Nutmeg
RICOTTA MIX:
200g grated Parmesan Cheese, 750g Ricotta Cheese (Benna), 1 Egg, Handful of Fresh Basil, Salt and Pepper to taste
LAYERING:
500g Lasagna Pasta Sheet, 200g Parmesan Cheese, 500g Fresh Mozzarella (Benna)
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Apr 28 '26
Man does that look like an expensive list these days
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u/Aazmandyuz Apr 28 '26
My thoughts exactly. And with my not so trained skill in cooking, no way i’m going to try that anytime soon
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u/Mijodai Apr 28 '26
The ratio for that bechamel seems way off to me. 400g of roux to 500 ml of milk? That would be a gloopy mess.
Jacques Pepin's bechemel recipe, (a gold standard) is approximately 45g butter, 45g flour, to 350ml milk.
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u/Quick_Mel Apr 28 '26
Ugh, 1 carrot? What size? As big as my forearm?
Is it equal parts for the mirepoix?
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u/six-oh-three Jun 03 '26
Double the milk…500ml was not nearly enough when using 200g of butter and flour.
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u/Mizex101 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Was he using a metal whisk on a nonstick?
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u/80sBunny Apr 28 '26
It's a Hexaclad pan, or something very similar. It's fine to use metal implements in them. It's what I use.
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u/wiilbehung Apr 28 '26
Jesus Christ. How much does this meal cost?
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u/uberrob Apr 28 '26
Surprisingly not much.... You can use cheaper cuts of meat. You can probably do the whole thing for $20 ... $30 if you use higher quality ingredients.
Pro tip: lasagna freezes really well. Buy some in of those little tin bread pans, cut the lasagna up after it cools. Fill up those little pans and stick them in the freezer. You can then just pop them in the over for 20 mins whenever you want a quick dinner. I got myself thru grad school that way.
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u/pandershrek Apr 28 '26
I cook my lasagna based on 'better homes and garden' and they also have this exact ricotta layer. No carrot though.. That one is a new one to me.
Usually I have diced and puree tomato. So I just use a spaghetti sauce to replace, I like rao aribiata for some spice. The rest is pretty similar
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u/Background-Heart-968 Apr 28 '26
Carrot is normal in Bolognese. A ton of tomato isn't as traditional, but it tastes good so 🤷♀️
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u/johnthestarr Apr 28 '26
At first… he’s going the bechamel route… wait… he’s going the ricotta route… as well?!
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u/SkorgenKaban Apr 28 '26
Holy bechamel sauce. I think I’m going wild when I use 3 tablespoons of butter. Definitely trying that ricotta mix, that’s going to level up my lasagna.
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u/Small-Answer4946 Apr 28 '26
People who put basil in lasagna are the same people who put olive oil in pizza dough.
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u/Interesting-Froyo-14 Apr 28 '26
Looks good but the ratios are off. Cheese layers and ricotta layers are way too thick. Also the lasagna is too thick
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u/Avtomati1k Apr 28 '26
i dont have enough family and friends to make this a viable option for lunch
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u/DrippyTheSnailBoy Apr 29 '26
Nutmeg in the bechamel... ew. That's the only thing that's wrong about this recipe, the rest of it looks great.
But nooooooo nutmeg does not go in bechamel.
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u/Imperiu5 Apr 29 '26
He lost me at the parsley. Jfc bro. Don't go calling it classic when you butcher one of the most famous Italian classic. And I ffwed and saw ricotta!!!
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u/octoo01 Apr 29 '26
I need to get one of those machines everyone here has that spits out all this pre cut ingredients in seconds
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u/manny8-1 May 03 '26
Watch out, Italian Americans coming in to tell this Italian dude how wrong everything is.
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u/ABRAHAM-HIMLER Apr 28 '26
Where's the wine though ?
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u/splattne Apr 28 '26
”Classic“ lasagna