Get Ultra-Creamy Lasagna With A Béchamel Sauce Swap
When you think of lasagna, you probably picture a layered dish of pasta sheets, tomato sauce, and ricotta cheese. However, if you're craving an ultra-creamy slice of lasagna, you might want to swap out that ricotta in favor of béchamel. Originating in France, béchamel sauce is made from butter, flour, and milk, with extra seasonings added to taste.
When arranging the dish, all you need to do to make the swap is spoon in the sauce where you would typically add ricotta cheese in your favorite lasagna recipe. Otherwise, assemble the dish as usual, with long, flat noodles, meats, or veggies.
The creaminess of the dairy-based sauce can help balance the acidity of most basic tomato sauces when the two are layered together. Additionally, béchamel may make for a better base, and will prevent the layers of pasta from sliding around. Ricotta, made from very fine, soft cheese curds, may not provide a sturdy enough base to hold up the slices.
Béchamel is typical in Italian lasagna
Although Americanized classic lasagna has popularized the use of ricotta in the dish, béchamel sauce is actually a more traditional option in some regions of Italy. In both the Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany regions of Italy, the dish is typically made using the cream-based sauce. Emilia-Romagna is known for Bologna-style lasagna, which includes meat sauce as a source of protein. Tuscan lasagna also uses meat sauce, though it combines different meats, such as beef, pork, and sausage, often with a splash of red wine added for a little extra acidity.
However, that doesn't mean all Italians shun the addition of ricotta in lasagna. While the northern regions of the country seem to prefer the creamy sauce, the southern regions favor a cheesier approach, including ricotta and mozzarella cheese.
Of course, when you're putting your own spin on the dish, you don't necessarily need to adhere to regional specifics. Instead, you can customize the components to suit your own tastes.
Make a non-dairy version of béchamel sauce
Because lasagna is an easily customizable dish, there are plenty of ways to make it dairy-free or vegan. You can substitute meat with veggies, and eliminate the cheese completely. However, since béchamel is made from butter and milk, you may need to make some substitutions to render the sauce vegan-friendly.
Fortunately, finding plant-based butter and dairy-free milk in grocery stores is fairly easy. Although there are many non-dairy milks to choose from, some work better for cooking than others. Soy milk, with its mild flavor, works well in sauces. However, if you want your sauce to be ultra-creamy, you might opt for a carton of unsweetened oat milk instead. Canned coconut milk is certainly creamy, but it could impart its own flavor.
The next time you're craving some authentic Italian-style goodness, just remember: the best lasagna doesn't contain ricotta. Instead, add some creaminess with layers of béchamel sauce.