Cornstarch Is The Key Thickening Ingredient To Prevent Soupy Lasagna (2024)
julia holland
·3 min read
Lasagna is a cozy, comforting meal that packs all the ingredients and flavors of a classic bowl of pasta into a compact, layered casserole. However, its straightforward yet time-consuming preparation leaves plenty of opportunity for error. A common source of angst for lasagna makers is a soupy consistency, which is often the result of piling on a watery sauce that hasn't reduced enough.
Whether you're making a tomato and meat sauce from scratch or using a jarred sauce, you can thicken it with cornstarch to prevent the problem of a soupy lasagna. Cornstarch is a classic binding ingredient that won't affect the sauce's flavor and is much more effective than flour. It thickens sauces and soups byinflating in liquid the same way oatmeal, rice, or any other starch ingredient does, absorbing it in the process. Cornstarch is cheap and widely available at most grocery stores with the flours and baking products.
To use cornstarch as a thickening agent for lasagna sauce, add it in a slurry to the sauce as it simmers. A slurry consists of equal parts cornstarch and cold liquid. You can use water, broth, or cooking wine for a savory tomato or béchamel sauce. Once you've dissolved the cornstarch into the liquid, you'll pour it into a hot pot of sauce and stirto combine. The standard ratio for cornstarch to sauce is a tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of sauce, but you'll need to adjust depending on how much thickening you need.
Thickening your sauce with cornstarch is a good start, but there are subsequent steps to take to prevent soupy lasagna. Watery tomatoes aren't the only culprit for soupy lasagna: Oils from cheese and meat and water from lasagna noodles and vegetables can affect your lasagna's consistency.Draining excess fatfrom ground beef or sausage before adding it to tomato sauceis imperative to maintain a thick sauce. For cheesy layers, drier cheeses or lower-fat cheeses have less water and grease.
Furthermore, you don't need to pile on the sauce, or any layer for that matter. It's best to use a thin layer of sauce, dotting small dollops of it around the casserole dish. If you add vegetables, you need to cook them and drain them before using them in your lasagna recipe. Because you want thin layers, you won't need many vegetables. You can also combine vegetables with ricotta which will help absorb any extra water.
Another set of simple tips you can apply to lasagna occurs during the baking process. While many recipes suggest covering lasagna with tin foil before baking, this will inhibit liquid from evaporating. You can use tin foil for a portion of the baking process, but baking the dish uncovered for at least 70% of the cooking time will help thicken the lasagna. It's also important to let the lasagna cool for at least 20 minutes, allowing for excess water to evaporate and residual oils to coagulate and solidify.
Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.
Use one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water together, then pour into your sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Cook your pasta sauce long enough to boil out most of the moisture so the sauce is thick. Do the same with the cheese portion of the layers. When you place each layer in the baking dish, be certain the moisture is at a minimum. Use low moisture mozzarella cheese to keep the melted cheese gooey, but not runny.
A thin sauce runs right off of cooked lasagna noodles, causing all the layers to slide off of each other, as well. A thick sauce, meanwhile, almost acts like a glue that holds the layers together, resulting in a dish that slices into neat squares.
I under cook the pasta so it will absorb some of the liquid from the tomato sauce, which guarantees that it isn't runny. If the lasagna is too wet take the foil off for the last 20–30 minutes and let the liquid evaporate. As others have said let the lasagna rest for 20+ minutes before trying to cut and serve it.
Make a cornstarch slurry for a fast and easy thickener.
Use one tablespoon of cornstarch per cup of liquid you would like to thicken. Stir out all the lumps. A few minutes before your casserole is done, add it a little at a time until you are happy with the thickness. Then, let the casserole finish baking.
For each cup of liquid, you want to thicken, start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl.Add an equal amount of cold liquid and stir until smooth paste forms. This is your slurry. Whisk the slurry into the hot, simmering liquid that you want to thicken.
Because cornstarch is pure starch, it has twice the thickening power of flour, which is only part starch. Thus, twice as much flour is needed to achieve the same thickening as cornstarch. To thicken sauces, cornstarch is combined with cold water first, which is called a slurry.
Cornstarch must be cooked to 95°C (203°F) before thickening begins. At that point, it usually thickens fairly quickly and the sauce turns from opaque to transparent. When cornstarch thins after it's thickened, it's usually due to continued stirring.
Whether you're making a tomato and meat sauce from scratch or using a jarred sauce, you can thicken it with cornstarch to prevent the problem of a soupy lasagna.
Melt the butter add the flour, next add a pint of already warmed milk and whisk.Bring it to a simmer and the flour will thicken it, then add your grated cheese. Gently simmer until you can no longer taste the flour in the sauce.
Yes it's tempting to cut into the lasagna right when you pull it from the oven, but let it rest on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes. This will help firm up all the layers and make it much easier to slice a square. And of course you can make it a day ahead or in the morning then reheat.
Just like steak, you need to allow the lasagna to rest before slicing into it. Resting or letting it cool for a good 10 to 15 minutes at least allows the heat to dissipate, the ingredients to settle from its bubbling state in the oven, and firms up the cheese that you added on top.
To keep it from tasting dry, add some extra liquid as you reheat it! A splash of water usually does the trick, and you'll want to cover the lasagna with foil, plastic wrap or a paper towel to trap all that liquid inside as it reheats.
A layer of sauce on top of the final layer of pasta, to keep it moist, and then a fairly dense sprinkling of well aged parmesan. No mozzarella, just parmesan. At least in my kitchen. I have always mixed my ricotta with egg and milk, so it doesn't dry out during baking.
For the best results, we offer the following tips for assembling your lasagne: Begin with a 13 x 9 x 3-inches deep baking pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the baking pan and begin layering.
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