No Bake Lasagna Filipino Style

Cook this recipe for your New Year's Eve 2016 celebration.

Got no oven? Mommies this is all what you've been waiting for.  You can definitely cook Lasagna even without an oven for your special gathering. Even myself, I thought I can't cook Lasagna without baking it. We can definitely cook one, exactly as it taste and looks like from famous restaurants. Like the traditional square casserole Lasagna.

                                                                                                               Lasagna

Make sure to use a rectangle plastic or aluminum container for presentation.

Don't worry Mommies, if you don't have Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese, you can always substitute it with Quickmelt Cheese and Regular Processed Cheese from your nearest supermarket.

If you plan to follow this recipe estimated budget is Php 1,000. Parmesan cheese cost around Php200 same with Mozzarella Cheese. But if you plan to use alternate cheese. It only cost around 500-600 Philippine currency.

Lasagna Ingredients:

• 500 Grams Lasagna Pasta
• 1 Kilo Ground Beef
• 1 Kilo Hunts Tomato Sauce Basil and Cheese Variant
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste (this will make sauce thick in texture)
• 1 Cup Finely Chopped White Onion
• 1 Head Garlic Finely Chopped
• Pepper Powder
• 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
• Salt
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• Dried Basil Leaves
• 1 Can Nestle All Purpose Cream
• 3 Tbsp Cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp water
• Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2  Grated Box Quick Melt Cheese

No Bake Lasagna Ingredients

Bechamel Sauce Ingredients:

•  Unsalted Butter
• 6 Spoon Flour
• 1 Cup milk - any powdered milk will do, dissolved in warm water. Powdered milk is rich in      fat. The fat in this milk will help the sauce becomes thick.
• 1 Large Evaporated Milk
• 1 Cup grated cheese

How to make Bechamel Sauce:

This is the thick white sauce used for layering. In french cooking they call it roux. In Greenwich (fast food chain in Philippines) you can also see it on top of their Lasagna.

In very low heat, melt about 1/4 sliced of butter. (from 1 bar of your regular rectangular brand of butter from the supermarket, like Dairy Cream.) Make sure not to burn it. It should look golden yellow. Once butter is in little bubbles mix flour, whisk it using fork, until it becomes egg like lump and paste like. In low heat, slowly add full cream milk. Mix it thoroughly until it becomes consistently smooth that when you spoon it, the thickness will cover the spoon. Mix and cook around 2 minutes then slowly mix in evaporated milk until very smooth in texture. Cool and set it aside for later use. This sauce will be use for bottom and top layer.

How to cook Lasagna Noodles:

Cook it for 13 minutes in boiling water with salt and 1 tbsp oil, cover and simmer. Make sure to mix it from time to time to avoid pasta from sticking on the pan. Once cook, drain and cool in air. Then, cut it into small squares on the chopping board, 3 layers of Lasagna at a time for quick result (at least 1x1 in size or bigger).

I chose to cut it into squares because I'm going to mix it later in the sauce. My Lasagna version is compose of 5 layers.

Lasagna and Beef Sauce Procedure:

This is the make or break of your recipe. Do follow the procedure religiously because the sticky beef sauce will bring the pasta together with Mozzarella cheese. It makes Lasagna stick to all other ingredients without the need to bake it. Just the sticky sauce, Cheeses and Bechamel Sauce. No need for baking.

1. Saute Garlic until light brown, followed by Onion until translucent.
2. Add in Ground Beef, salt pepper, soy sauce and basil.
3. Pour in Tomato Sauce and simmer for few minutes and mixing it to avoid sticking from the pan
4. Add in Tomato paste and Diluted Cornstarch
5. Nestle All Purpose Cream
6. Add in sugar and salt to adjust taste.
7. Simmer and mix for 2-3 minutes
8. Add in Lasagna Pasta
9. Sprinkle Grated Mozzarella Cheese

Once Mozzarella is melted. We're ready to layer it in the pan!

How to Layer:

1. Spread Bechamel Sauce (bottom)
2. Combined Lasagna Pasta and Beef Sauce (2nd layer)
3. Bechamel Sauce (3rd layer)
4. Quickmelt cheese (4th layer)
5. Parmesan cheese

It's your choice, if you prefer not to cut the lasagna noodles and lay it whole in the rectangular container.

Try it today! See I just did it.. No Bake.

Nom Nom :)

Don't forget to add some Garlic Bread on the side. 

Toasted Garlic Bread!