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+-- Thread: Ok another odd question - Lasagna (/showthread.php?tid=67542)
Ok another odd question - Lasagna - DFen911 - 10-20-2008
Ok this is an odd question. I have never done this technique so wondering if anyone has.
I plan on making a big tray of lasagna for Friday's pot luck. Normally I par boil the pasta, do my layers and bake. Well I'm not going to bake this till the next morning. I had planned on assembling and baking in the morning.
Question - Do I par boil the pasta or leave it hard? I have heard of folks not cooking it as it will absorb enough moisture thru the sauce and bechemel.
Opinions?
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - Mare749 - 10-20-2008
Denise, I have used the no boil technique in the past. Whoever thought of it called it overnight lasagna. I think it might have been a recipe on the back of a jar of spaghetti sauce some years back. Anyway, the instructions were to drizzle 1 cup of water over your finished lasagna, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight before baking. The uncooked lasagna noodles absorb the water. This recipe was for a lasagna made with ricotta rather than a bechamel sauce. Since I always use fresh ricotta in my lasagna, I don't know if it would turn out okay using bechemel, and probably wouldn't use the no boil method without a trial run.
Maryann
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - HomeCulinarian - 10-20-2008
Denise - I've made pans of lasagna the night before baking and parboiled the pasta - it was fine. I sealed the pan and refrigerated it. Allow extra baking if you put it in the oven cold.
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - labradors - 10-20-2008
Quote:
Allow extra baking if you put it in the oven cold...
...and take it out early enough that the baking dish isn't so cold that it cracks when you put it into the hot oven.
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - Gourmet_Mom - 10-20-2008
Quote:
[blockquote]Quote:
Allow extra baking if you put it in the oven cold...
...and take it out early enough that the baking dish isn't so cold that it cracks when you put it into the hot oven.
[/blockquote]
Or get a foil pan and make it in that, so you won't have to deal with a dirty dish at a pot luck...just toss it.
OOPS! I didn't respond to the original question. I have always parboiled and stored in the fridge. Then there's those no boil sheets you can get now. I just recently used them in the Bolognese Rigatoni I made recently and it worked like a charm. However, I have never held it over when using freshly made lasagna sheets.
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - DFen911 - 10-20-2008
Lol so I'm still confused. I plan on baking it in the next morning.
Maryann did you put water on the pasta and then the sauce?
I not using grated cheese except for the topping. It will be a layer of noodles, meat sauce, bechamel, sauce, noodles repeat.
And Daphne I checked my store and they don't carry the no boil ones, just regular Barilla and their store brand.
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - Gourmet_Mom - 10-20-2008
Amazingly, my store in town just started carrying them. Oh well! I think I'm just as confused as you now...LOL!
Just to REALLY mess with your brain...I'd probably bake it the day before without the final cheese layer just short of done, then finish it off with the cheese until warmed through and cheese is melted. But then, I'm not an expert on this kinda thing.
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - farnfam - 10-20-2008
I haven't done it overnite in the refrig except with the no boil kind of pasta. If you can't get the no boil kind then I'd par boil and assemble and leave in frig overnite. Be sure to remember what Rob and HC said about room temping it first before baking the next day. Anyway that's my two cents worth. I hope it comes out great for you, after all, there's no such thing as bad lasagna, is there??
Cis
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - cjs - 10-20-2008
I've made it a lot both ways - put together and bake the next day AND bake it the day before and heat for serving. I think I prefer baking the day before, BUT, there is not that big of a difference which way you go - it's kind of like soups, stews they are always just a little better the next day. my opinion
Re: Ok another odd question - Lasagna - DFen911 - 10-20-2008
I have to bake the morning off because if I do it the night before there is no way for me to really heat it up in the big dish I'm cooking it in. So was gonna cook it and wrap it tight.