Cheats Lasagna – 2 Bliss of Baking

Cheats Lasagna; I ditched the authentic Lasagna making process; and came up with a very delicious recipe. Very quick; very easy; and an all vegetarian baked recipe.

Lasagna originated in Italy, and the traditional dish is made by interleaving layers of pasta with layers of sauce. Lasagna is a wonderful filling dish and can gracefully be a center piece of a big dinning table. Mine is a kind of fusion lasagna and was loved by my family too.

My #foodsketch, I just love doing this.

You know Why am I naming this recipe as cheats Lasagna; because I have used bread instead of lasagna sheets. Which turned out to be great. I don’t know if it has happened to you or not; but with me – making lasagna means a visit to Foodhall. I don’t think I will be going there now for lasagna sheets atleast; until and unless I have invited an Italian for dinner.

Cheats Lasagna

1. I knew for a fact is that the crispy top of lasagna is the most delicious part, but never had experienced it. Every restaurant I have ever had lasagna at, never ever had served that crisp top either. Well this recipe has it and it’s really is the most awesome part.

I think the top crunch makes more sense because when it accompanies a saucy ooey gooey creamy interior; that makes a perfect bite.

2. Then I skipped the ricotta part from Lasagna; because if we don’t mix ricotta with eggs; it gets very dry and crumbly after baking . I was looking for an eggless recipe so went with bechamel (white sauce) ; it keeps the lasagna moist and counters the acidity of tomatoes. To make my white sauce more rich and creamy, I added a spoonful of mayo after it had cooled down completely. Try this mayo trick for other recipes too; it makes white sauce more yummy.

3. The Spinach layer added a bite and balanced the whole lasagna very well. You can add aubergine or zucchini, go with the flavors you like the most.

4. For the tomato based sauce, I made the Jamie Oliver style arrabiata using fresh basil. Again, for vegetarian reasons,I wanted to skip the meat part. I have started making this sauce very often for all kind of pasta, pizza and even for my Paneer gravy. Love the fresh basil and tomato combo.

5. You can layer your lasagna your way. I had spinach for the first layer, then bechamel (white sauce) and then tomato arrabiata – again a thin layer of bechamel (white sauce) and so much cheese. But remember lasagna must have three layers atleast for it to be named lasagna.

6. Let me not forget the top layer; I am so happy about. The trick was to sprinkle the left over edges of bread used in the layers. Chop them really fine and sprinkle over along with cheese before baking. I happened to sprinkle less; but would suggest you to sprinkle more; cover the whole top.

7. Then another point is to coat a thin layer of butter on to your baking tray before you start with layers. Apply a thin layer of tomato sauce on the base rather than starting with bread.