Whole grain lasagna with homemade béchamel sauce
A classic like no other – flavorful tomato/meat sauce with vegetables, smooth béchamel cream, and of course, whole grain lasagna sheets in between. A true family favorite! This recipe meets the Whole Grain Logo requirements. The recipe was developed by Bodil Spliid Damkjær.
Ingredients
- 250 g Whole grain lasagna sheets
- 100 g Grated cheese, maximum 16% fat
Meat sauce
- 450 g Minced beef, 3-7% fat
- 250 g Celery
- 250 g carrots
- 250 g onion
- 2 Canned peeled tomatoes
- 100 g Tomato paste
- 3 pcs Bay leaves
- 5 g Fresh thyme sprigs
- 5 g oregano
- 4 clove garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 10 g Fresh chili
- 25 g olive oil
- 2 dl Cold water
Béchamel sauce
- 5 dl Semi-skimmed milk
- 30 g butter
- 15 g White wheat Flour
- 2,5 g Ground nutmeg
- 2 pcs Bay leaves
- 0,25 dl lemon juice
Instructions
Meat sauce
- Celery, carrots, and onion are cut into small cubes.
- Choose a large pot with a thick bottom. First, sauté the onions in some of the oil. They should not take on color.
- Add the chopped celery and carrots. Stirring constantly and with the stove on high heat, sauté the vegetables in the pot until they are heated through. They should not take on color.
- Make a well in the center of the pot and add the minced meat a little at a time. Once the meat has browned, stir it together with the vegetables.
- Once all the meat is browned and mixed with the vegetables, create a well in the center of the pot again. Pour the last drops of oil into the well and add the tomato paste.
- Sauté the tomato paste in the oil for 1 minute while stirring. This helps remove the bitterness from the tomato paste, which could otherwise give the meat sauce an unpleasant aftertaste.
- Add the peeled tomatoes along with 2 dl of cold water. Add the bay leaves, chili, and thyme to the dish. You can remove the chili if the dish becomes too spicy.
- The dish simmers for a couple of hours. Technically, the dish is fully cooked in 20 minutes, but if allowed to simmer gently, the flavor of the meat sauce develops better.
- Add the oregano to the dish just before serving.
Béchamel sauce
- Butter is melted in a heavy-bottomed pot.
- Add the flour and cook the butter and flour together. They should not take on color.
- Heat the milk in another pot.
- Gradually add the warm milk to the flour mixture while continuously stirring with a whisk. The sauce should be smooth and free of lumps.
- Add the bay leaves, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and let the sauce simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Assembling the lasagna
- Layer the lasagna with béchamel sauce, lasagna sheets, and meat sauce until all ingredients are used. Finally, top the lasagna with grated cheese.
- Let the assembled lasagna rest on the table for 30 minutes, then bake it for 30 minutes at 180°C.
Tip
- The lasagna can benefit from resting outside the oven for 30 minutes before serving.