27 March 2009

Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 4 - Assembly of an 9 hour toil and Final Verdict

And finally, after about 9 hours of hard work, I get to the assembly of the lasagne. :)

Ingredients :


1 batch Bechamel as in post 1
1 batch Pasta as in part 2 (the original recipe called to use pre cooked pasta, however I don't usually pre boil, so I decided to go with just the dried one)
1 batch Ragu as in part 3
2 cups of grated mozzarella

Method :

01. Spread 2 tablespoons of bechamel across the bottom of the dish.


02. Add a layer of pasta.


03. Add another 2 tablespoons of bechamel.


04. Sprinkle on a handful of cheese.


05. Add 3 tablespoons of ragu.


06. Add a layer of pasta and repeat steps 3 to 6 until the dish is filled.


07. Add a final layer of bechamel, and a good sprinkling of cheese.


08. Cover in foil and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

09. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.



10. Slice and serve with salad / garlic bread.



Verdict :

On the whole, it's a nice lasagne. Compared to my usual cheats lasagne however, it's average. I felt like I'd put in a lot of effort for something that didn't taste a whole lot better than what I'm used to. I've heard lots of people raving about how amazing it was, but I just don't buy it. Perhaps it's amazing compared to the usual American lasagne, but not so I'm afraid for this Daring Baker. I don't think I will ever make this recipe again, or even any part of it. The ragu was no more tasteful than my usual offering, the white sauce was almost identical to the one I get in a jar, and the pasta was no better than the dried shop bought one. For a challenge that took an entire weekend to make, I was expecting something phenomenal. This had to be the single most disappointing recipe I've ever made.

However, it's not a bad lasagne. And I'm glad I took part, because I now know I don't need to ever make pasta again, or my own white sauce.

Roll on next month :)

2 comments:

BC said...

Oh boy, so sorry it didn't work out for you. It seems like quite a production.

Anonymous said...

Your lasagne looks delicious!