Homemade lasagne pasta sheets (lasagna)
Everybody loves a good baked lasagna (lasagne al forno to the Italians). And, here on The Pasta Project there is a growing number of delicious baked lasagna recipes (yes there are different ways to make it!). However, making lasagne al forno with homemade lasagne pasta is pretty unbeatable!
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Baked lasagna around Italy.
Baked lasagna is a classic dish in most Italian regions. However, the recipe varies from region to region. In Northern Italy, they make it with fresh or dried egg pasta. Usually, the other ingredients are a classic Bolognese sauce or meat ragu, Parmigiano Reggiano or grana cheese and bechamel .
In Emilia-Romagna, they often use green lasagne pasta sheets, made with spinach. A great favourite of mine for baked lasagna from Emilia-Romagna is baked pasta roses or swallow’s nests (nidi di rodine) (see link below). In this dish, the lasagne sheets are rolled with ham and cheese and sometimes other ingredients inside them and then baked covered in bechamel. I have made this recipe with homemade lasagne and boy is it good!
In Naples, Neapolitan lasagna, a typical carnival dish, is prepared with Neapolitan ragu, meatballs, cow’s ricotta, provola and pecorino cheese. Interestingly, the lasagne in the south is often dried and made without egg.
In some Italian mountain areas, they substitute the ragu or meat sauce with mushrooms. Whereas, they sometimes use pesto instead of ragu in Liguria, and in Veneto, red radicchio from Treviso.
In Umbria and in Marche, there is a particular version called ‘vincisgrassi’ in which the ragu is enriched with chicken or pork offal. In the Apennines, the ragu is replaced by a filling of porcini, truffles and pecorino and in Sicily, there is also the ‘alla Norma’ version with eggplants. Or, they add boiled eggs to the dish.
Lasagna bianca.
Not all Italian recipes for ‘lasagne al forno’ contain tomatoes. In fact, there are many ‘white’ recipes too. Italians say 'lasagna bianca'. A ‘white’ lasagna I particularly love comes from Puglia. It’s made with mushrooms and burrata (see link below). Believe me when I say, it’s amazingly delicious. Plus, there’s no meat included, perfect for vegetarians too!
Here in Northern Italy, people also call these dishes (red and white) ‘pasticcio’. However, although pasticcio has layers of pasta with various fillings baked in the oven, it isn’t always with lasagne sheets.
Making homemade lasagne pasta is easy!
Fresh lasagne sheets are available to buy throughout Italy. But, the absolute best is homemade lasagne. It’s actually pretty easy to make, with or without a pasta machine. Why not give it a try next time you want to make a baked lasagna? I’m sure once you’ve done it, you’ll want to do it again and again! There really is quite a difference in the taste of homemade pasta and store bought, even if the latter is fresh!
Do you need to precook fresh lasagne?
When making your baked lasagna dish you can either precook the pasta for a couple of minutes in boiling salted water before assembling the dish or use it raw. In the latter case, the sauce needs to be a little more liquidy. I usually don't precook fresh pasta.
If you do try making your own homemade lasagne, I’d love to hear how it turns out. Please, write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
Recipes on The Pasta Project for your homemade lasagne pasta.
(just click on the name of the recipe to go to that page)
- Lasagne al forno with Bolognese from Emilia-Romagna
- Radicchio pasticcio (Italian chicory lasagna) from Veneto
- Baked lasagna alla Norma from Sicily
- Baked pasta roses from Emilia-Romagna
- Lasagna bianca with mushrooms and burrata from Puglia
- Italian lamb lasagna
- Poached salmon and asparagus lasagna
- Lasagna baked in broth from Molise
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Homemade lasagne/lasagna pasta
Ingredients
- 400 g Italian soft wheat flour '00' (14oz) All purpose flour can be used too.
- 4 eggs large
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- To make the pasta, mound your flour on a large wooden board. Make a well in the center and add a pinch of salt.
- Break the eggs into the well and whisk them a little ( you can also beat eggs in a small bowl and then add to flour or start by mixing flour and eggs together in a bowl and then turn out onto a board to knead)
- Start to incorporate the eggs and flour by slowly bringing more flour in from the inside edges of the well. You can use a fork or scraper for this.
- Continue mixing the flour with the eggs until they are no longer runny.
- Using your hands now, bring the outside edges in, forming a large mass on your board.
- Begin to knead the dough as you would bread, pushing it down with the heel of your hand.
- Continue kneading for about 7-10 minutes. Knead until the pasta dough is smooth, elastic, and just slightly tacky. You can dust the dough with more flour if it’s too sticky, but try not to add too much additional flour or the pasta will be tough.
- Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in cling film and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- Cut off ⅙ of the dough, re-wrap the rest in cling film so it doesn’t dry out and roll out the piece you cut off until it is flat enough that you can pass it through a pasta machine if you are using one.
- I used my pasta machine to roll out the sheets, first 3-4 times on number 6 or 7 on the dial (widest setting) and then a couple of times more on number 4. Each time you pass the dough through the machine fold it first into thirds and pass it through again until it comes out with the right thickness and length. If you want even thinner sheets you can also pass the dough through again on number 2 or 3. Cut the sheet to the length you want.
- If you aren’t using a machine you need to keep rolling out the dough until it is thin enough to almost see your fingers through it. Then cut the sheet to the size you want.
- Transfer the ready sheets to a drying rack while you prepare the rest. Repeat with the remaining dough. (the lasagne can be stored, when completely dry and stiff, for up to 1 week). If you don't have a drying rack see recipe notes.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for Later
New recipes for homemade pasta sheets you will love.
I've just posted (March 27th 2020) a great recipe for homemade pasta sheets that you should check out! Baked fazzoletti from Abruzzo
Also worth trying is this recipe from Liguria for silk handkerchief pasta squares with pesto. Just cut your pasta sheets into squares instead of rectangles! Silk handkerchief pasta with pesto.
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Teresa says
Hi, I am just wondering if the lasagne sheets will still turn out the same if I use an electric mixer with a dough attachment to mix and knead the dough, rather than doing it by hand. Thanks!
Jacqui says
Hi Teresa, thanks for your question. I have made lasagne dough using a mixer although I usually still do some kneading by hand for a minute or two at the end.
Hazel says
Hey Jacqui, this recipe looks wonderful!
I just had a couple of questions regarding the eggs in the recipe. If the servings I'm making for (2) require me to add 1.6 eggs, do you suggest to add 2 eggs or just 1 egg?
Additionally, I've seen some recipes recommending to add the same amount of eggs and egg yolks (like 3 eggs and 3 egg yolks), do you propose doing that with this recipe might be beneficial? Like 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks? or 1 egg and 1 egg yolk?
Overall, this recipe seems great, I can't wait to try it.
Jacqui says
Hi Hazel, thanks for your comment. I think the best method is to stick to using 1 large egg per 100gs flour (3.5oz). So rather than use 150g flour and 1.5 eggs, go for only 100g (should be enough for 2) or 200g. If you use 200g plus 2 eggs and have more pasta sheets than you need for 2 people, you can freeze the leftover sheets for another day. Italians do use egg yolks instead of whole eggs for some types of pasta. But not usually for a traditional lasagna. Do let me know how your pasta turns out.
Vale says
Hi Jacqui,
I'm wondering if you have advice on freezing ready-made lasagne... I was planning to make lasagne in a foil baking tray with your pasta recipe and then freeze it, but I'm not sure how to avoid overcooking the lasagne when I take it out of the freezer to cook it... If I skip par-cooking the lasagne sheets, do you think it would bake well from frozen? Not sure if you've tried this.
Thanks! Looking forward to trying the recipe.
Jacqui says
Hi Vale, thanks for your question. Re freezing a ready made lasagne: I don't like to freeze cooked pasta (fresh or dried) I think it becomes mushy when recooked. For lasagne al forno, I assemble the dish in a metal oven dish (aluminium /foil is good) using uncooked fresh pasta sheets and cooked and cooled meat sauce and béchamel. It's important nothing is hot and that you freeze immediately so the pasta won't soak up any sauce! Then cook from frozen covered with aluminium, first on a low heat (160°c 320 F) for about an hour and then remove the aluminum, sprinkle some grated cheese on top and turn up the heat so the top browns. Check that the centre of the lasagna is hot before adding the cheese and turning up the heat.
Mei says
Made this and turns out great! My lasagna is so soft and sets perfectly after baking and since I used it right away I didnt bother to boil it in water. It goes straight with the sauce and into the oven.
Jacqui says
Hi Mei, I'm so glad your lasagne turned out well.I really think nothing beats a lasagna made with homemade pasta!
Kurtis says
Hello Jacqui,
I made this pasta dough and it was amazing easy and tasted so much better than dried! I will always make lasagna with fresh pasta, here on out!
Question for you, is this pasta dough universal to other pasta dishes or just lasagna? It seems like it would be, but just wanted to double check.
Jacqui says
Hi Kurtis, I'm happy your homemade lasagne turned out so well! Yes, you can use this pasta dough recipe for other types of egg pasta such as tagliatelle/ fettuccine etc and even ravioli. Of course, there are slight variations to the ingredients for some types of egg pasta. Yesterday, I made ravioli with 200g of flour, one egg, one egg yolk and a little water but I could have used whole eggs and no water!
Gina Wagner says
1. How do you get the ruffled edges ?
2. What to do if the lasagna was baked for an hour at 350 but the pasta was still gummy? It only cooked through around the edges of the pan. Made this last night but hope maybe reheating will fix it? I did not boil pasta but I had very moist sauce. My pasta roller goes from 8(largest thickness) to 1. Finished rolling at #2 because #1 seemed much too thin. (?) Thank you
Jacqui says
Hi Gina, thanks for your comment. The lasagne with ruffled edges is a dry pasta I buy ready made. It's a typical Neapolitan pasta called lasagne ricce. Re your lasagna: I think it was probably overcooked as homemade pasta lasagna doesn't need one hour in the oven. I usually cook it for about 30 minutes and then let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.