Lasagna (Filipino Style)

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My husband just love me so much that he bought me a pasta machine. Well, he's not really a pasta person but he knows that I love it and I've been practicing how to make a fresh homemade pasta. So, my first pasta challenge is to cook lasagna. And for him to actually eat it, it should be a Filipino style sauce :)

Ingredients for the Pasta dough: 

• 3 cups flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs

Procedure:

1. Combine the flour and salt. Whisk it together with a fork in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the eggs. Create a well in the middle of the flour and crack the eggs into this well. Whisk the eggs with the fork to combine.
3. combine the flour and eggs. As you whisk the eggs, begin gradually pulling in flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl. Once enough flour has been added, it will start forming a very soft dough.
4. Knead the pasta dough. Gently begin folding the dough on itself, flattening, and folding again. It will be very soft at first, then gradually start to firm up.
5. Begin kneading the dough once it's firm enough to knead. Add more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to you or the counter.
6. Let it rest inside a mixing bowl and cover with a dinner plate or plastic wrap. Rest for at least 30 minutes.
7. Get the dough after resting and divide the it into 4 portions. 
8. Set your pasta machine to the thickest setting.
9. Begin rolling out the dough portion to at least half inch and feed it through the pasta roller. Repeat it twice or thrice to smoothen the dough. 
10. Begin changing the settings on your roller to roll the pasta thinner and thinner. Roll the pasta two or three times at each setting. If the pasta gets too long to be manageable, lay it on a cutting board and slice it in half. Roll the pasta as thin as you like to go. 
11. Sprinkle little flour to keep them from sticking.
12. Do the same to the other portion of dough.
13. Cook the pasta immediately, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water, and cook the pasta until al dente, 4-5 minutes.

Meat Sauce:

• 1 kg ground beef
• 6 pieces hotdog, diced
• 1 small size carrot, finely diced
• 1 medium size onion, finely diced
• 1/2 head garlic, finely chopped
• 3 250g/packet tomato sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Green Bell pepper, sliced (optional for toppings)
• salt and pepper
• oil

Béchamel Sauce:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups evaporated milk

Cheese Topping:

• Grated cheddar cheese
• Mozzarella Cheese

Procedure:

To cook the sauce:

1. Sauté garlic and onion in a saucepan.
2. Add the ground meat and stir cook for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add in the hotdog and carrots, continue to stir cook for 3 minutes. Put in the tomato sauce and sugar, stir to cook for another 5-7 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. When cooed remove from heat and keep aside.

To cook the bechamel sauce:

1. In a medium size sauce pan heat and melt the butter in low fire.
2. Stir in the flour until fully blended.
3. Pour in the milk and continue to cook stirring occasionally until almost boiling. 
4. When done keep warm, keep aside.

Arrange and bake lasagna:

1. Arrange the pasta sheets at the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Add in a layer of meat sauce over the pasta sheets. 
3. Pour in a layer of the white sauce.
4. Add cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese on top. 
5. Now arrange the second layer of pasta, meat sauce and white sauce and cheeses until you reach the top of the baking dish. The top part should be covered with bechamel, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake at 350°F to 375°F for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Let cool down for about 5 minutes before serving.
8. Serve and enjoy!