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Colorful Lasagna

17/11/2023

Colorful lasagna is a creative and cheerful way to present this Italian classic, using vegetables to dye the pasta different colors. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

  • 400 g of lasagna sheets (you can use ready-made sheets or make them yourself with flour, eggs, and salt)
  • For the green pasta: boiled and squeezed spinach (about 150 g)
  • For the red pasta: 2 tablespoons of tomato paste or boiled beetroot
  • For the yellow pasta: a pinch of saffron or turmeric
  • 500 ml of béchamel sauce
  • 300 g of Bolognese ragù
  • 250 g of cheese such as mozzarella, scamorza, or your choice of melting cheeses
  • Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Preparation

  1. If you’re making the pasta from scratch, divide the base dough into three parts. Add the blended spinach to one part to obtain green sheets, the tomato paste or beetroot to another part for red, and the saffron or turmeric to the third part for yellow. Let the colored sheets rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling them out.

  2. Cook the sheets in salted water with a drizzle of oil for a couple of minutes, then drain and dry them on a clean cloth.

  3. Prepare the béchamel following your favorite recipe or, if necessary, I can provide it. Do the same with the Bolognese ragù.

  4. In a baking dish, pour a drizzle of oil or spread some béchamel over the bottom to prevent the lasagna from sticking.

  5. Start layering the lasagna, alternating the colors of the sheets and spreading béchamel, ragù, and cheeses between each layer.

  6. Continue until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of pasta covered with plenty of béchamel, pieces of mozzarella, and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan.

  7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30-40 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and crispy.

  8. Let the lasagna rest for a few minutes before serving.

Curiosity

The colorful lasagna, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, allows the introduction of different flavors in every layer, giving you the opportunity to experiment with various ingredients and to create a dish that is a celebration for both the eyes and the palate.

Colorful Lasagna