Bechamel Sauce	Lasagna

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Lasagna

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept 28, 2021

Yield: 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 7 cloves garlic cloves, divided

• 1 small yellow onion, diced in 1/4-inch pieces

• 2 (28-oz) cans fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

• 1 Tbsp sea salt

• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves, stems removed, divided

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups whole or 2-percent milk

• 3 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

• 2 lb bulk spicy Italian sausage or links with casings removed

• Cooking spray

• 1 lb fresh pasta sheets cut into flat lasagna noodles or 9-oz dried noboil
  oven-ready lasagna noodles in the flat shape

• 4 cups shredded mozzarella

• 5 fire-roasted red peppers

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Preparation

For the marinara sauce, add olive oil to a 4- or 5-quart pot and heat on medium low.

Take 5 garlic cloves, peel them, chop finely and add to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer garlic for 10 minutes. Don’t allow the garlic to brown.

Add chopped onion pieces, raise heat to medium and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add tomatoes and stir to blend. Add sea salt and black pepper. Bring the sauce to a very low boil, then cook at a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Measure out 1 cup of basil leaves and stir them into the simmering sauce. Turn off the heat and let stand. If made a day ahead, cover and store in the refrigerator.

To make the bechamel sauce, melt butter in a 2 or 2 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat.

Peel the 2 remaining cloves of garlic, dice finely and add to the butter.

Whisk the flour into the butter in several additions, making sure to keep the mix smooth. When all the flour is whisked in, slowly whisk in the 2 cups of milk. Raise the heat to medium and whisk until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano in until just incorporated.

If the sauce is made ahead, store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

To assemble the lasagna, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the sausage in a large skillet, breaking up the sausage with a spatula into small pieces or crumbles of similar size. Allow the sausage to brown lightly. When done, drain the sausage on paper towels or on a rack over a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Spray a 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch pan with cooking spray to prevent the lasagna from sticking.

Spread 1/3 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan. Lay down pasta sheets to cover the bottom. If using no-boil noodles, place one noodle at each 9-inch end of the pan and center the third. There will be space in between, but the pasta will expand as it bakes.

Spread lasagna ingredients out evenly across the sheets in the following order: 1/2 cup marinara sauce, 1 cup sausage pieces, 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 5 to 7 fresh basil leaves, 1 fire-roasted pepper sliced into thin strips and 1/3 cup bechamel sauce