Hey there Honey's and New-Bees!

Usually when new cooks ask for a recipe, my go-to is almost always lasagna. It’s comforting, easy to make, and always a crowd-pleaser. My first lasagna was kind of a flop, which my Romeo likes to call a “cute attempt”. It was waaaayyyy to saucy, way too cheesy (I didn’t know that was even possible, but it definitely is), and thin 😞. But after being given a little guidance, and getting a lot more practice, I can now help you make a fantastic lasagna – and avoid making a “cute attempt” of a lasagna, lol.

To help make sure your first lasagna isn’t a “cute attempt” let’s get cooking and make a lasagna together, and remember you don’t need to get complicated to make a fantastic meal that everyone appreciates. Make it your own and adjust based on your own personal taste. You can use pre-jarred sauce, make your own sauce, add mushrooms, use ricotta, not use ricotta, add spinach, meat, sausage… the list goes on, you get the idea.

Before we start, prep all your ingredients first; grate your cheese, wash and chop your veggies, warm your sauce (on the stove, not in the microwave), boil a pot of lightly salted water, pre-heat your oven, and last but not least, line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you can use tin foil, I but would recommend using parchment paper which is non-stick and just as easy to cleanup).

Place your veggies on the baking sheet and roast them for about 10-15 minutes at 350ºF.

Your lasagna will turn out without this step, but roasting your veggies releases a lot of the excess water and adds a nice rich earthy flavour to the dish – you won’t regret this extra step!

Once your veggies are in the oven, your water should be boiling, so add your noodles into the pot and cook for about 8 minutes or until they are “al dante” – Al dante is a term used to describe slightly under cooked pasta, and still slightly firm. As a general rule of thumb you would want to undercook pasta that’s going to be double cooked (like lasagna) otherwise you’ll end up with  mushy, paste-like noodles.

If the noodles are overcooked it will also make handling them very difficult when layering the noodles because they will break apart easily. If you do happen to overcook them, don’t stress out or get discouraged, you don’t need to restart, just chuck it up to an experience that you’ve learned from and now know how to avoid for next time  (We’ve all been there) 😊.

Once your noodles are cooked al-dante, drain them in a colander and run some cold water over them to make sure they don’t stick together, but also so they are cool enough to touch when handling them in the next step.

While your noodles are cooking prep your béchamel sauce. This step is also optional but I like to add since it gives the lasagna a rich creamy flavour (plus I just really love any excuse to make it). So in a medium size sauce pan melt your butter then gradually mix in your flour and stir continuous for about 5 minutes before gradually whisking in your milk. Once all your milk has been added, add a 2 handfuls of grated mozzarella, turn off the heat and let the let the mozzarella melt into the béchamel.

Ok so by now your veggies are out of the oven, your noodles are cooked and your bechemel is ready to go, so you have everything ready to start creating those wonderful lasagna layers!

First things first, pull out a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and line it with parchment paper or tin foil to prevent sticking, and to make cleanup A LOT easier.

Drizzle a thin layer of sauce on the bottom then add your first layer of noodles until they cover the dish, drizzle some more sauce and sprinkle with a LIGHT layer of cheese. Remember how I told you my first lasagna was way to cheesy, well on that first attempt I thickly layered my cheese every step of the way, which seemed like a great idea at the time, but I basically ended up with a giant melted cheese casserole that had a little bit of noodle and sauce – I’ll admit it, it really wasn’t a lasagna 😓

Repeat the same steps for the next couple of layers but add your veggies and béchamel  between the cheese and sauce for another 2-3 layers, then continue just layering the cheese and sauce until your down to your last 3 noodles. Add one last layer, drizzle a little sauce on top, and NOW add a nice healthy layer of cheese on top and sprinkle with some parmesan!!!!! Cover your lasagna with tin foil and bake at 350ºF for 40 mins, then remove tin foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Once it’s done baking  take your lasagna out of the oven and let it cool with the foil loosely sitting on top (tented).  It may be tempting to dig in right away, but the wait is a crucial! Not only is your lasagna WAY  to hot to eat, but it also needs time to settle, and  for the the liquids to thicken (sauce, starch from noodles cheese etc…).

Once you’ve let it rest for a good 20-30 mins, go ahead dig in… buon appetito! (Don’t forget to keep a little extra sauce on the stove to pour over your plates 😊.