Does your lasagna fall apart at the first stab? This light and very creamy béchamel will give them back a little presence…
In lasagna, béchamel is not only there to hold the candle between the plates. It fulfills one, or rather essential roles. With its inimitable creaminess, it hydrates and nourishes the dough sheets, thus facilitating their cooking when they have not been pre-cooked. It also balances the flavors, with its milky notes which soften the acidity of the tomato sauce. Combined with grated cheese on the surface, it also helps the dish brown. But it is above all for its binding power that it is appreciated: by cementing the different layers together, it ensures perfect support when cutting. Finally, when you succeed…
According to cookbooks, making béchamel sauce seems so simple. Melted butter is mixed with flour to form a “roux”, which is then gradually diluted with milk while whisking. Then let everything thicken over the heat, stirring constantly, before adjusting the seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg. But it turns out that in reality, you rarely get the perfect consistency the first time. When it doesn’t lump, it ends up too pasty or too liquid, forcing us to make up for it with the means at hand so that our lasagna holds together more or less properly.
Belqis goes about it quite differently. To coat its butternut squash lasagnathe Basque recipe creator prefers to make her light béchamel… with ricotta! A certainly light cheese with only between 8 and 12% fat, but nevertheless creamy enough to thicken its sauce and provide impeccable hold. In a small saucepan, she melts 1 onion cut into strips in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, before adding 2 tablespoons of flour, mixing well, then gradually pouring in the equivalent of 400 ml of milk (here vegetable for a lighter finish, but cow’s milk also works). After having added salt, pepper and nutmeg, she finally incorporates, off the heat, her pot of ricotta (i.e. 250 g).
You will then obtain a very creamy béchamel, and just compact enough not to settle at the bottom of the dish… An ideal compromise for lightening your lasagna without sacrificing its softness. And above all, an easy tip to remember, which makes you want to revisit many other everyday recipes.
