Lasagne Verdi
Lasagne are pretty common all over the world now, for this reason I decided to share this version that is just a little different and is made especially in my region, Emilia Romagna, in Italy.
Verde is the Italian word for green, in fact you have probably noticed that the color is different :D
Egg pasta is very easy to make and also, very easy to "dye" using natural ingredients. You can make it red using tomato sauce, black using squid ink or green adding spinach, like in this case.
Verde is the Italian word for green, in fact you have probably noticed that the color is different :D
Egg pasta is very easy to make and also, very easy to "dye" using natural ingredients. You can make it red using tomato sauce, black using squid ink or green adding spinach, like in this case.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 200 gr (1.6 cups) flour
- 500 gr (2 1/8 cups) fresh spinach
- 500 ml (2 cups) bechamel sauce
- 400 gr (14 oz) meat sauce
- parmesan
- olive oil
- butter
- pasta machine
- knife
- wooden pastry board
- rectangular baking tin - about 22x16 (8.66 x 6.29 inches)
- large pot
- bowl
First of all you have to prepare your spinach.
Cook it in boiling water like you would normally do and let it cool.
Squeeze it very well so that all the water goes away then chop them up.
Meanwhile prepare your flour on a table and add your spinach.
Add the eggs and a little bit of olive oil: it will make the dough more elastic.
Start to mix them using a fork, then incorporate all the flour with your hands.
Keep mixing until your dough becomes smooth and homogeneous.
Cook it in boiling water like you would normally do and let it cool.
Squeeze it very well so that all the water goes away then chop them up.
Meanwhile prepare your flour on a table and add your spinach.
Add the eggs and a little bit of olive oil: it will make the dough more elastic.
Start to mix them using a fork, then incorporate all the flour with your hands.
Keep mixing until your dough becomes smooth and homogeneous.
In the meantime, you need to prepare a few things:
- put your meat sauce in a bowl or pot and add your bechamel sauce to it.
Mix them together.
I know that mixing them together is not very common, but that's the way my family has always done it. Honestly I don't like too much bechamel sauce so I prefer it when it's mixed with meat sauce...believe me, it's delicious! :D
- fill a large pot with water, add a little bit of butter and let it boil.
Butter will prevent your pasta from sticking while curling in the water.
- cover your baking tin with butter.
Cut a little piece of dough and put the rest aside for a while. Remember to cover it with a bowl so that it won't dry!
Pass the piece of dough you just cut through the pasta machine, starting from the largest "level" (in my pasta machine it's number 1).
Gradually pass it through the other levels until you reach the last one (number 7 for me) that is the thinnest one.
You will probably need to dust your dough with flour from time to time...do it whenever you feel it's getting sticky!
Cut rectangles of pasta about as big as your baking tin using it as guide.
Then continue this way until you have finished your whole dough.
Pass the piece of dough you just cut through the pasta machine, starting from the largest "level" (in my pasta machine it's number 1).
Gradually pass it through the other levels until you reach the last one (number 7 for me) that is the thinnest one.
You will probably need to dust your dough with flour from time to time...do it whenever you feel it's getting sticky!
Cut rectangles of pasta about as big as your baking tin using it as guide.
Then continue this way until you have finished your whole dough.
Put your rectangles of pasta in the boiling water that you prepared before, one or 2 at a time.
Remove them as soon as they come up: it means that they are ready. It will take just a few seconds.
Lay your rectangles on cloth to let them dry a little. They will be very hot so be careful! :)
Do this for all your pieces of pasta, always using the same water.
Remove them as soon as they come up: it means that they are ready. It will take just a few seconds.
Lay your rectangles on cloth to let them dry a little. They will be very hot so be careful! :)
Do this for all your pieces of pasta, always using the same water.
Take your baking tin and lay your first rectangle of pasta in it.
In case it's too big you can fold it or cut it, it's up to you...if it's too small, simply add another piece of pasta! Don't worry, it doesn't have to be accurate.
Spread some bechamel and meat sauce on it and some grated parmesan.
This is the first layer of your lasagna.
Add another rectangle of pasta then bechamel and meat sauce and parmesan...
Continue this way adding as many layers as you like.
I continued until the baking tin was full :D
End your lasagna with plenty bechamel/meat sauce and parmesan.
Bake at 200C (400F) for about 25/30 minutes (check your lasagne from time to time!).
Your lasagne are ready to be eaten!! Yuum! :D
In case it's too big you can fold it or cut it, it's up to you...if it's too small, simply add another piece of pasta! Don't worry, it doesn't have to be accurate.
Spread some bechamel and meat sauce on it and some grated parmesan.
This is the first layer of your lasagna.
Add another rectangle of pasta then bechamel and meat sauce and parmesan...
Continue this way adding as many layers as you like.
I continued until the baking tin was full :D
End your lasagna with plenty bechamel/meat sauce and parmesan.
Bake at 200C (400F) for about 25/30 minutes (check your lasagne from time to time!).
Your lasagne are ready to be eaten!! Yuum! :D
Left Out Dough
In case you still have some dough that you couldn't fit in your baking tin, reuse it!
I made some tagliatelle with it! :)
So instead of putting it in the boiling water, mix it all together again and pass it through the pasta machine until you reach the penultimate level, the 6th one for me.
I pass it through the 6th one twice so that it's a little thinner but not as thin as in the last one otherwise they will break as you eat them.
Let the pasta dry for a while so that it won't be too sticky, then pass it through the special pasta machine part that cuts tagliatelle.
In case you don't have it, you can roll your pasta starting from the shortest side and cut many strips, about 1cm (0.39 inches) thick.
Open them up and voilà, your tagliatelle are ready!
If you don't want to cook and eat them right away, you can keep them in the freezer for a long time and cook them whenever you want!
Very quick and super easy! :)
I made some tagliatelle with it! :)
So instead of putting it in the boiling water, mix it all together again and pass it through the pasta machine until you reach the penultimate level, the 6th one for me.
I pass it through the 6th one twice so that it's a little thinner but not as thin as in the last one otherwise they will break as you eat them.
Let the pasta dry for a while so that it won't be too sticky, then pass it through the special pasta machine part that cuts tagliatelle.
In case you don't have it, you can roll your pasta starting from the shortest side and cut many strips, about 1cm (0.39 inches) thick.
Open them up and voilà, your tagliatelle are ready!
If you don't want to cook and eat them right away, you can keep them in the freezer for a long time and cook them whenever you want!
Very quick and super easy! :)