Go Back
French Onion Lasagna

French Onion Lasagna

This French Onion Lasagna features layers of homemade pasta, buttery caramelized onions, sharp gruyere cheese, and a velvety béchamel sauce
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Rest Time 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Course: Main Course
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Fresh Pasta
  • 160g (5.5oz) semolina flour
  • 160g (5.5oz) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp water
Caramelized Onions
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 red onions sliced into half-moons
  • 6 yellow onions sliced into half-moons
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
Ricotta Mixture
  • 475g (17oz) ricotta
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 clove garlic peeled
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper
Bechamel
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard heaping
  • 1 tsp salt
To Assemble
  • 300g (10.5oz) gruyere or comte cheese shredded
  • 1 ball fresh mozzarella torn
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp salted butter melted
  • ¼ red onion sliced very thin
  • fresh rosemary for sprinkling
  • fresh thyme for sprinkling

Equipment

  • 1 Pasta maker
  • 1 9x13 casserole dish
  • 1 Food Processor
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

For the Pasta
  1. Pour the semolina flour and all-purpose into a large bowl. Add the salt and whisk to combine.
    160g (5.5oz) semolina flour, 160g (5.5oz) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp salt
  2. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg yolks, eggs, and water. Whisk the wet ingredients together and start gradually integrating the dry ingredients into the wet until a shaggy dough forms.
    4 large egg yolks, 2 large eggs, 1 tbsp water
  3. Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes or until smooth. The dough should feel fairly stiff. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. **
For the Onions
  1. While the pasta dough is resting, get the onions underway. Pour the olive oil into a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and salt. Add the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook the onions for 2-3 hours, stirring the onions every 30 minutes, until very soft and golden.
    ¼ cup olive oil , 4 red onions, 6 yellow onions, 2 tsp salt, 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, 3 bay leaves
  2. Remove the bay leaves and the rosemary and thyme stems. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set them aside to cool.
For the Pasta
  1. Divide the dough into 8 evenly-sized pieces. Make sure you keep the pasta covered with plastic wrap as you work. Working with a piece at a time, roll the pasta out into thin sheets using a pasta roller. *** Place the sheets on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. When the baking sheet is full, place another piece of parchment on top and build another layer of pasta. Repeat until all the dough is rolled out.
  2. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil. Liberally salt the water and add 3-4 sheets of pasta. Cook for 45 seconds before rinsing the pasta and transferring it to another large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the pasta has been blanched.
For the Ricotta
  1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set it aside.
    475g (17oz) ricotta, 1 large egg, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp crushed red pepper
For the Bechamel
  1. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat until foamy. Whisk in the flour and cook until it emits a warm nutty aroma.
    4 tbsp unsalted butter, 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
  2. Gradually whisk the wine and milk into the roux to form a silky sauce. Bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer and whisk in the Dijon mustard and salt. Simmer until thickened slightly. About 5 minutes.
    ¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth, 3 cups whole milk, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp salt
  3. Take the sauce off of the heat and set it aside.
To Assemble
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13" casserole dish and set it aside.
  2. Spoon some bechamel into the casserole dish and spread it to form a thin even layer. Place pasta on top. Dot the pasta with a third of the caramelized onions and spread them to form an even layer. Drizzle some of the bechamel on top and cover with a quarter of the gruyere cheese.
    300g (10.5oz) gruyere or comte cheese
  3. Add another layer of pasta and dot it with the ricotta mixture. Spread it to form an even layer and cover it with pasta. Repeat the caramelized onion layer two more times and top the final layer of pasta with the remaining bechamel and gruyere. Add the torn mozzarella.
    1 ball fresh mozzarella
  4. In a small bowl, toss to coat the panko breadcrumbs in the butter. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the surface of the lasagna. Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden. ****
    ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp salted butter
  5. Take the lasagna out of the oven and let rest for 10. Top with the shaved onions, additional rosemary, and thyme. Slice into pieces and serve immediately.
    ¼ red onion, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme

Notes

**You can make the pasta dough up to three days in advance. Just keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes prior to rolling. 
*** The sheets should be thin enough that you can see the outline of your hand through them. I rolled mine to a #4 on the Kitchen Aid pasta roller. Your machine may have a different number system. 
**** Keep watch over the lasagna. It could burn very quickly.