Béchamel Sausage Lasagne

 

(pic credit: https://italianchef.com/sausage-lasagna/)

Béchamel Sausage Lasagne 

ingredients:

Red Sauce:

1 lbs. sausage (casings removed)

1 onion, diced

6 cloves garlic

parsley

crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 - 28 oz. can petite diced canned tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato paste

salt

Béchamel Sauce:

6 Tbs. butter

6 Tbs. heaping flour

milk

salt

pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella

1 c. shredded parmesan

1 pkg. Oven Ready Lasagne Noodles (Barilla)

directions:

Start with your red sauce. Coat your sauce pan with oil. Remove the sausage from the casings and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Add the diced onion. Cook until soft and translucent about 8 minutes. Add garlic (use fresh or frozen - stay away from every other kind or it won't taste as good), and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add salt to taste and about 2 Tbs. crushed parsley and a couple shakes of crushed pepper flakes. Add your tomatoes and tomato paste (gives it a richer more tomato flavor)

Next make your béchamel sauce.  Melt butter in a smaller sauce pan, add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. It will form a paste, cook the paste cook for a couple minutes. Next you want to take your time and don't rush the roux or it will be lumpy and meh. Add about 1/2 a cup of milk at a time. Work it in to the paste, after each time it will get be lumpy for a minute but go into the paste until you have added enough milk to start turning it into a sauce. If you don't get these directions google "How to Make a Roux" and watch a video. Really all it takes it patience. When it has achieved a good consistency (like a creamy dressing), salt and paper to taste (traditional béchamel also has a pinch of nutmeg, which is optional)

Last is the layers. Spray your 9x13 pan. Start with 1 cup of red sauce, layer with the Oven-Ready noodle (about 3, they will expand during cooking), then top off with the béchamel sauce and cheese. Repeat layers. The last layer you spread the rest of your red sauce over the béchamel and finish with your cheeses. Bake at 375' for 30 minutes.