Filipino-style Lasagna
Filipino-style Lasagna that is so good that every mouthful is satisfying! Layers of ground beef, mozzarella, and béchamel sauce between lasagna pasta. You won’t look for another lasagna recipe once you tried this!
Lasagna casserole is probably one of the most beloved Italian dish in the world. Even Filipinos have their own version of the dish that is unique and delicious. When digging into this hearty dish, it reminds me of family gatherings. Filipino-style lasagna is a straight-forward recipe that you can adjust to your liking. I have a secret ingredient though that makes this lasagna stand out from the rest, chili flakes!
Making it Filipino.
There are several ways to make lasagna and one way to make it is the Filipino way. Filipinos like is their pasta like spaghetti on the sweet side. There are Filipino spaghetti sauce available in groceries or Asian stores if you live abroad. You can also achieve the sweetness but adding sugar to the meat sauce like what I did with this recipe. Filipinos also love a meatier lasagna, other recipes add hotdogs along with the ground beef. And lastly make it cheesier. A combination of mozzarella, parmesan and edam cheese really does wonders!
Things to remember when making béchamel sauce.
When making béchamel sauce don’t brown your roux or the butter and flour. Stir over low-medium heat until the flour taste is cooked off.
Follow the ratio for butter and flour. It’s best to stick with the correct amount of butter and flour when making the roux.
Warm up the milk for 2 to 3 minutes in the microwave and pour it gradually to avoid lumps.
Tips for best lasagna.
For this recipe we are basically making a thick, meaty sweet tomato sauce then layer it with dry lasagna pasta, béchamel sauce and cheese in a baking dish. Here are some tips for best results.
Start by making the meat tomato sauce first. Adding chili flakes to the sauce gives it an oomph factor that balances with the sweetness.
Ground beef is essentially the meat for the sauce but you can also add hotdogs or sausages if you prefer.
To store and reheat leftover lasagna, reheat slices in the microwave, or you can warm the whole baking dish in the oven at 150°C/350°F covered in foil. until bubbly again.
An 8 inches by 8 inches square baking dish was used in this recipe. You can still use a small rectangular dish but you might need to cut out some pasta sheets to fit the casserole.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
You might also like:
Creamy Chicken Macaroni salad with juicy shredded chicken, pineapple chunks, raisins, bacon and al dente pasta.
Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca is just as quick and easy to make like any pasta dish. It requires nothing more than some items you probably have in your pantry already.
Filipino-style Lasagna
Equipment
- 8 in. X 8 in. baking dish
Ingredients
- 6 sheets dry lasagna pasta
For tomato and meat sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion (sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 500 grams ground beef
- 430 grams tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
For béchamel sauce
- 50 grams butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup milk (warm)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp nutmeg (optional)
Toppings
- 1 cup edam cheese or cheddar cheese (shredded)
- ½ cup Parmigiano cheese
- 200 fresh mozzarella (sliced)
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 180°C or 358°F
Making the tomato meat sauce
- Heat olive oil in a deep pan or pot over medium heat. Tip in onion and cook until translucen then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add beef and cook until brown in color. Pour tomato sauce and stir to coat then add water and simmer for 3 mins. Add the sugar, salt, red chili flakes, pepper and oregano, stir and cover simmer for 3 mins. Taste and adjust. Set aside
Making the béchamel sauce
- In a sauce pan melt the butter in low-medium heat then add the flour cook the flour for 3 mins. until flour taste is cooked off. Pour the milk gradually and stirring the add salt and nutmeg. Continue stirring until the sauce becomes thick but pourable. Set aside
Assembly
- Place a thin layer of tomato meat sauce at bottom of an 8 in. X 8 in. baking dish then cover with lasagna pasta sheet. Layer again with 1/2 cup meat sauce then pour some béchamel sauce on top. Place 6-8 slices of mozzarella then repeat the process until you make 3 layers.
- For the topping, sprinkle parmigiano cheese, shredded edam cheese and fresh parsley. Cover with a foil brushed with oil to avoid cheese sticking. Bake for 60 mins at 180°C. Removed the foil then bake again in broil setting setting for 5 mins. Serve and enjoy! Bon appetit!
