The Art of Making Lasagna: A Journey with Babish and Brad

Kind: captionsLanguage: enA lotta people have a lot of mixed feelings about lasagna, but for many, it's a beloved dish that evokes memories of family gatherings and cozy nights in. For Garfield fans, the cat's love for lasagna is well-known, but for others, the dish may hold sentimental value or be a personal favorite.

Making Lasagna with Babish and Brad

Hey, what's up guys? Welcome back to Binging with Babish, where we just made ricotta with Brad and Vinnie over at the Bon Appetit test kitchens. But now, we're making ragu bolognaise, for which we're going to need one pound each of ground pork, beef, and veal, the classic meatball mix. We're putting that in the pot over medium-high heat and not really trying to brown it, but rather just sort of get all the fat out of it. It's less about getting a nice crust on the meat than we are about having a smooth sauce later on.

Into the pot with a little bit of the reserved fat goes: one chopped onion, one large chopped carrot, and a couple stalks of chopped celery. A few optional shakes of red pepper flakes, if you want a little tiny bit of heat, and a good pinch of oregano. We're letting those flavors get to know each other, mingle, let the onion soften up, and then crush four cloves of garlic, sautéing for just an additional minute until fragrant because we've got a beautiful layer of fond forming on the bottom of this pot.

The key to making a great lasagna is in the sauce. We're using a combination of ground meats and aromatics to create a rich and savory base that will hold everything together. By not browning the meat too much, we're able to keep the sauce loose and easy to work with. This makes it easier to layer the ingredients and ensures that each bite is full of flavor.

Adding ricotta cheese to the mix was an experiment for Babish, but he's glad he decided to try it out. The result is a creamy and tangy cheese that adds a new dimension to the classic Italian dish. We're also using mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, which provide a nice balance of flavors and textures.

Assembling the Lasagna

Now I propose that we start with a lube layer of sauce... Yeah, lube layer sounds great! And uh, you know, get a little sauce on the bottom and then we'll drop what, some noodles? We made them a little wide, do you mind if they overlap a little bit? No, you know, a little overlap, it's life, but it's 2018. You guys, Brad's right. It's 2018, let's embrace the overlap.

We're starting with sauce, then mozzarella, then ricotta between each sheet of pasta. And well, we - we're putting in a little pot cheese in. Remember that stuff we made? Between the Sheets with Babish and Brad, coming soon... Now I'm decidedly in the anti-ricotta-in-lasagna camp, but I'm gonna trust that this is gonna work out.

Brad's enthusiasm for lasagna is contagious, and he's convinced me to give ricotta a try. It may not be my favorite ingredient in lasagna, but it adds a nice creaminess and helps balance out the flavors. We're using a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to provide a nice melty texture.

Baking the Lasagna

Oh yeah, we got the oven set to 375F, we'll get a little Parmesan topper. I see you're hitting it with a little bit of freshly-ground pepper right there. And uh, throw this bad boy in right on a little sheet tray, alright, smart move there, Babby, so in case we get any bubbling over, we don't go all "uh, smoking and burning down your house, you know."

After 45 minutes, it's time to dig in. Whoa, whoa, you gotta wait a little bit! Everyone knows lasagna's gotta rest, I'd say about 30 minutes, if not overnight. And after the longest 30 minutes of our lives, it's time to dig in.

The final result is a deliciously cheesy and savory lasagna that's sure to please even the most discerning palates. The ricotta cheese adds a nice creaminess, while the mozzarella provides a melty texture. It's a classic combination that never goes out of style. As we take our first bites, we're reminded why lasagna is such a beloved dish around the world.

The verdict

I gotta say for the first time ever, I did not hate the inclusion of ricotta in this. Yeah, I mean, it's cheesy, you know, the mozzarella's nice, it's got a nice stretch to it. That silent little sleeper there, it's the ricotta. All right, well, thank you guys for coming over and showing me the error of my ways.

All right Babby, thanks for having us, man. Wouldn't wanna make lasagna with anyone else.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enA lotta people have a lot of,uh, mixed feelings about lasagna.I - uh, I know how Garfield feels about lasagna.- Garfield?- Yeah.- New Jersey?- No, the, uh - the cat!(mutual laughter)Hey, what's up guys?Welcome back to Binging with Babish wherewe just made ricotta with Brad andVinnie over at the Bon Appetit test kitchens.But now, we're making ragu bolognaise, for whichwe're going to need one pound each of ground pork, beef, and veal,the classic meatball mix. We're putting that in the potover medium-high heat and not really trying to brown it,but really just sort of get all the fat out of it. It's less thatwe're going to have to be contending with later when we make our sauce.Into the pot with a little bit of the reserved fat goes:one chopped onion, one large chopped carrot,and a couple stalks of chopped celery.a few optional shakes of red pepper flakes,if you want a little tiny bit of heat,and a good pinch of oregano.Go ahead and let those flavors get to knoweach other, mingle, let the onion soften up,and then crush four cloves of garlic,sauteing for just an additional minute until fragrantbecause we've got a beautiful layerof fond forming on the bottom of this pot.Now if you're a dum-dum, you'll add the meatback to this pot and then deglaze with the wineWhat you wanna do is deglaze withthe wine, and then add the meat back to the pot.Scrape up all that yummy good stuffand add 2 cups of homemade chicken stock(or chicken stock) in whichyou've dissolved one packet of gelatin.Now it's tomato time. We're sticking pretty closeto the J. Kenji Lopez-Alt version of this recipeso add enough tomatoes so it's a ratio of like,a third tomatoes to the rest of the stuff.We're also gonna add a few sprigs of basiland not add a few sprigs of fresh sage:chop that stuff up, don't put it in wholelike I did - along with a cup and a half of milkstir it up a little bit, add two bay leaves.Make sure everything's evenly dispersed and submerged,and it's time to slow-simmerthis guy for a solid four hours.Alternately you can bake it with the lid partially openin a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for about four hours.Once it's gotten nice and thickand rich and relatively cohesive,let's fish out our sage and basil leaves,add a solid half cup of freshly chopped basil,and half a cup of heavy cream. We're also going toadd a solid three ounces of grated Parmesanor like, half a wedge, whichever one comes first.Mix everything together, make sure everything'snice and melted, cohesive and rich and yummy and...Oh god, this stuff is good. But as always, we waiteduntil the end to season with salt and freshly ground pepper.Probably gettin' tired of hearing this, but wait until theend to season your sauces and soups and stuff like that.Before you eat it all yourself by the spoonful,we're gonna place this guy on the back burnerbecause now it's time to make fresh pasta.This is not our first time making pasta on the show - if you want to seehow to make pasta from scratch, go check out the Basics episode on that.I'm just sorta doing thegrandma thing here, no measuringbunch of flour, bunch of eggs,a little bit of salt, mix 'em all together.Now usually the problem I run into is that I'veover-hydrated my dough, and this time I've under-hydrated it,so it is very, very hard to knead.If only I had some big, strong hands to help me with this...Big strong hands, you say, Babish? Step aside!Oh, look, it's a really tall guy named Brad!(clanging noises as Brad fails to avoid the hanging pans)Geez, we're gonna do it again.But it looks like even Brad Leone from It's Alive with Bradis having a really hard time with this dough, it's severely under-hydratedbut not to worry, we've got a fix for that. For now, we're cutting upthe dough into four equal pieces and wrapping in plastic wrapletting rest at room temperature for 30 minutesand starting to roll out using a pasta roller.Now if your dough is under-hydrated,you'll see that this starts to happen:the edges, when you put 'em through thepasta machine, are going to come out all torn and tatteredThe fix: re-knead the doughwith a little bit of water.I mean yeah, we could use water, but uh, you knowwe got all this whey left over from the uh, ricotta makingThe byproduct of ricotta, we might as well add that tothe dough, let that kinda add a little bit of tanginessa little bit of cheese flavor, I mean,we are makin' lasagna, Babby.Is it weird that I like it when Brad calls me Babby?Anyway, it's almost time to assemble.Now I propose that we startwith a lube layer of sauce...Yeah, lube layer sounds great! And uh, you know, get alittle sauce on the bottom and then we'll drop, what, some noodles?We made 'em a little wide,do you mind if they overlap a little bit?No, y'know, a little overlap, it's life, but it's 2018.You guys, Brad's right.It's 2018, let's embrace the overlap.Anyway, we're starting with sauce, thenmozzarella, then ricotta between each sheet of pastaYeah, well, we - we're putting in a little pot cheese in.Remember that stuff we made?Between the Sheets withBabish and Brad, coming soon...Now I'm decidedly in the anti-ricotta-in-lasagna camp,but I'm gonna trust that this is gonna work out.So Brad, what do you saywe go ahead and bake this thing?Oh yeah, we got the oven setto 375F, we'll get a little Parmesan topper.I see you're hitting it with a little bitof freshly-ground pepper right there.And uh, throw this bad boy in right ona little sheet tray, alright, smart move there, Babby,so in case we get any bubbling over, we don't go alluh, smoking and burning down your house, you know.And 45 minutes later, it's time to dig in.Whoa, whoa, you gotta wait a little bit!Uh, everyone knows lasagna's gotta restI'd say about 30 minutes, if not overnight.And, after the longest 30 minutesof our lives, it's time to dig in.And as you might've guessed,it's got a hell of a cheese stretch.Top it up with a torn basil leaf andyou know, we gotta get Vinnie up here for this.Get a plate, alright?You're part of the team.Because lasagna should be enjoyed as a family.Now I gotta say for the first time ever,I did not hate the inclusion of ricotta in this.Yeah, I mean, it's cheesy, you know,the mozzarella's nice, it's got a nice stretch to itI bet - I tell you what, thatsilent little sleeper there, it's the ricotta.All right, well, thank you guys forcoming over and showing me the error of my ways.All right Babby, thanks for havin' us, man.Wouldn't wanna make lasagna with anyone else.\n"