Gluten-Free Lasagne

A comforting homestyle gluten-free lasagne made with rich beef and pork ragù, creamy béchamel and gluten-free pasta sheets.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 825kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion finely diced
2 sticks celery finely diced
2 carrots peeled and finely diced
700 g beef mince
300 g pork mince
2 garlic cloves crushed
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
125 ml red wine
2 tablespoons tomato puree 30g
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
400 g passata
250 g 12-13 gluten-free lasagna sheets
150 g gruyère cheese grated
125 g mozzarella torn

Béchamel sauce

100 g unsalted butter
50 g cassava flour
1000 ml whole milk
¾ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Heat the olive oil for a couple of minutes in a large wide bottomed saucepan.
Add in the onion, celery and carrots and fry on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add the beef mince, pork mince and the crushed garlic. Fry together until the mince has browned.
Pour in the red wine and stir together until the red wine begins to bubble.
Add the tomato puree, thyme, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Stir in the passata and bring to a gentle boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes whilst you prepare the bechamel sauce.
Remove the thyme and the bay leaves prior to assembly.

Béchamel sauce

Melt the butter on a medium heat in a large saucepan.
Once the butter has melted, turn the heat to low and add the flour, whisking for 2-3 minutes, making sure to scrape out the corners so no flour gathers there.
Pour the milk into the roux gradually, whisking all the while so the mixture is smooth. As you pour in more milk you can turn up the heat a little and switch to a balloon whisk which is more effective at smoothing out the lumps.
Once all of the milk has been added then whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Continue mixing until the béchamel is thick, smooth and creamy and switch off the heat.
Press a sheet of cling film or baking parchment to the surface of the béchamel so a skin doesn’t form whilst you are waiting to assemble the lasagne.
Just before you assemble the lasagne, give the béchamel a good whisk to smooth it out again.

Blanching the Pasta

You only need to blanch the top layer of pasta sheets – so 3-4 depending on the exact dimensions of your baking dish.
Fill a saucepan, wide enough to fit a lasagna sheet, with an inch or two of water and a pinch of salt.
Whilst you are bringing the water up to boil spread a large sheet of baking parchment on your work surface ready for the blanched pasta to rest on.
Once the water is boiling place in one lasagna sheet with a pair of tongs. Boil the pasta for 1 minute then remove with the tongs and place on the baking parchment to rest whilst you blanch the remaining sheets.

Assembly

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan / gas mark 4.
Choose a deep 33 x 23 cm Lasagne dish and begin to assemble the lasagne.
Spread a few large spoonfuls of ragù to evenly cover the bottom of the dish but it won’t be a thick layer as you have to make sure you have enough for four layers.
Arrange 3 pasta sheets on top of the ragù.
Spread a few large spoonsfuls of the béchamel sauce over the pasta sheets, making sure to totally cover them right to the edges of the pasta.
Continue to layer the ragù, then the pasta, followed by the béchamel sauce until they have been used up and the blanched pasta sheets are the ones you use on the final layer. Make sure the final topping of béchamel covers the pasta sheets thickly so no pasta is exposed.
Sprinkle over the torn mozzarella and grated cheese.
Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

Lasagne layers. This lasagne should have 4 layers. 3 sheets of pasta on each layer. My lasagne dish is slightly wider at the top so requires 3½ sheets of pasta on the top layer. So I use a total of 12½ sheets of pasta.

Blanching the pasta. I recommend using dried pasta for this recipe. You don’t need to pre-cook the pasta (although check the advice on the box of your particular brand). However, if you can spare a moment then I advise blanching the top layer of pasta sheets for just one minute which will be at the pinnicle of the lasagne layers. This will ensure the pasta sheets are more amenable to absorbing the top layer of sauce. Sometimes I have found that if you don’t do this little extra step then the top layer of pasta can dry out and crisp up if your béchamel is a little thin.

Topping the lasagne. Make sure you top your lasagne generously with a thick layer of béchamel sauce. The top pasta sheets need to be well covered with sauce and heavy with cheese to stop the pasta from rising up out of the dish and drying out.

Rest the lasagne for at least 15 minutes before serving – it will hold its shape better and you won’t scorch your tongue on the cheese.

Serve with a simple green salad and garlic bread.

Make Ahead – You can make the ragù and the béchamel sauce up to two days before assembling your lasagne. Store in airtight containers in the fridge. Assemble as per the recipe.

Freeze – You can freeze the uncooked but assembled lasagne. I don’t recommend freezing once baked as it can dry out too much in the freezer and the re-heating process. If you can find one, assemble the lasagne in a deep foil dish so you don’t have to lose one of your ceramic dishes to the freezer. Wrap the uncooked lasagne up well in a double layer of cling film and tin foil to freeze for up to two months. Remove from the freezer to defrost overnight. Bake as per the recipe.

Ingredient measurements: Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.

US customary measurements: These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information: Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of lasagne, assuming the lasagne is cut into 8 servings.

Nutrition