I love lasagna! It is rich, tasty, and delicious. I like to pair it with a piece of garlic bread (and spread lots of extra butter on top of the bread). One of my favorite versions is the one with the sweet meat sauce, with sliced hotdogs. The sauce is cooked the same way as that of Filipino Spaghetti. I simply call it, Filipino Style Lasagna.
This recipe will give you a sweet version of lasagna with a rich and creamy white sauce. I also tried to cook it using a non-conventional way. This means that I did not use a regular oven to bake it. Instead, I improvised by broiling it in a turbo convection oven, otherwise known as turbo broiler.
How to Cook Filipino Style Lasagna
There are three processes involved before assembling the lasagna. The first thing that I did was to make the meat sauce. I cooked the lasagna afterwards by following the package instructions. Lastly, I prepared the white sauce.
As mentioned, making the meat sauce is almost the same as making the sauce for Pinoy spaghetti. Pork is used instead of beef. It will also be nice to add sliced hotdogs in it. Aside from using these ingredients, it also has to taste sweet. I add a bit of sugar to make it happen. Check out this Pinoy Spaghetti recipe on how to make the sauce.
It is always recommended to follow the package instructions when cooking pasta. Lasagna is no exception. I did it by boiling around one and a half pints of water in a pot and added a teaspoon of salt. The instruction states to boil the lasagna for 10 minutes, so I did. Note that the duration might vary depending on the brand.
Making the white sauce is quick and easy. Simply melt butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir until blended. Gradually pour milk and stir until the mixture thicken. Finish it off by adding cheese. That’s it!
Assemble the lasagna by following the steps in the recipe below. Watch the video for guidance.
Now, lets talk about broiling the lasagna in the turbo broiler. It is important to cover the baking pan with aluminum foil before the initial broiling. Yes, we are going to broil it more than once. The first broil is the longest and the goal is to completely finish cooking the entire lasagna.
Set your broiler to 400F and broil for 35 minutes. Remove the foil cover and set your broiler to 350F, adjust the timer to 15 minutes. We just need to brown the top and melt all the cheese in this process.
This is a good recipe for those who want to try Filipino Lasagna that does not access to conventional ovens. If you have an oven at home, do it the regular way by baking in 375F for 45 minutes.
I hope that you give this No-Bake Filipino Style Lasagna a try. Have fun cooking!
No Bake Filipino Style Lasagna
Ingredients
- 9 pieces lasagna
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- Water for boiling lasagna
Meat sauce:
White sauce:
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 2 cups fresh milk
- 3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Prepare the meat sauce by heating oil in a cooking pot.
- Saute onion and garlic until onion softens.
- Add ground pork. Cook until it turns light brown.
- Put the hotdog into the pot and saute with the rest of the ingredients for 1 minute.
- Pour tomato sauce and water. Let boil. Cover and cook between low to medium heat for 40 minutes.
- Add sugar and season with ground black pepper and salt. Set aside.
- Boil around 1 ¼ pint water in a cooking pot. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Put the lasagna in boiling water and continue to boil based on the package instructions. Note: I boiled the lasagna for 10 minutes as indicated in the carton instructions. Drain the water. Set lasagna aside.
- Prepare the white sauce by melting butter in a saucepan. Add half of the flour. Stir until blended. Add remaining flour and continue to stir. Gradually pour milk while stirring until the white sauce thickens. Add ½ cup cheddar cheese. Stir until melted.
- Assemble the lasagna by spreading meat sauce on an 8x8 baking pan. Layer the lasagna and then spread meat sauce over the lasagna. Spread the white sauce next and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Arrange the second layer of lasagna and top with meat sauce, white sauce, and cheese in the order mentioned. Arrange the third layer of lasagna. Top with white sauce first followed by the meat sauce. Sprinkle cheese all over.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Note: Make sure that the foil does not touch the toppings of the lasagna. Place in a turbo broiler. Broil in 400F for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, set the temp to 350F and continue to broil for 12 minutes.
- Remove the lasagna from the broiler. Slice and serve.
Mslyn says
Thank you. I love it