Ellens Noodless Lasagna Recipes

EASY LASAGNA I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef until brown. Add mushrooms and onions; saute until onions are transparent. Stir in pasta sauce, and heat through.
• In a medium size bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs.
• Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Layer with uncooked lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce. Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserving 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and top with remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

ELLEN'S KILLER LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. In a large skillet, brown the meat slowly; spoon off excess fat. Add next 5 ingredients. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 2. While meat is browning, cook noodles according to package instructions in large amount boiling salted water till tender; drain and rinse. Beat eggs.
• 3. Add remaining ingredients to eggs,except mozzarella and noodles.
• 4. Layer half the noodles in a 13x9x2 in. baking dish; spread with half the Ricotta filling; add half the mozzarella cheese and half the meat sauce. Repeat layers.
• 5. Bake in a 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate; bake 45 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• 6. Serve with a green salad and pass the garlic bread!

HANDMADE LASAGNA SHEETS

Steps:

• Mound the flour in the center of a large mixing bowl. Dig a well in the center of the mound and add the whole eggs and 5 yolks. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will start to come together in a shaggy mass when about half the flour is incorporated.
• Use your fingers to continue to mix the dough. Press any loose bits of flour into the dough. If needed, add another egg yolk or a tablespoon of water to absorb all of the flour.
• Once the dough comes together into a cohesive mass, remove it from the bowl and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough by hand until smooth, elastic and uniform in color, 4 to 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.
• Cut off a quarter of the dough. Rewrap the larger portion and set aside. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the small piece of dough into an oval approximately the same width as your pasta machine, about 6 inches wide. Set the rollers to their widest setting and pass the dough through.
• Lay the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board or countertop and neatly press together into halves, so it's again about the same width of the pasta machine. Feed the pasta through again at the widest setting. Think of these first rollings as an extended kneading. Continue to fold the dough in thirds and roll it until it is smooth, silky and even-textured. Do your best to make the sheet the full width of the machine.
• Once the dough is silky and smooth, you can begin to roll it out more thinly. Roll it once through each of the next two or three settings, adding flour as needed, until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
• Once the pasta is about 1/4-inch thick, begin rolling it twice through the next thinner settings. As you roll, lightly sprinkle flour on both sides of the pasta to prevent it from sticking to itself.
• Roll out pasta until you can just see the outline of your hand when you hold it under a sheet, about 1/16-inch thick. (On most machines, you won't make it to the thinnest setting.)
• Cut pasta into sheets, about 13 inches long. Dust the sheets lightly with flour, stack on the prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean, lightly dampened kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

ELLEN'S NOODLESS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan, and drain off the oil. Add the spaghetti sauce and mushrooms, and simmer 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and Italian seasoning. Beat well with a fork.
• Grease an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the beef mixture in the bottom of the dish. Spread the ricotta mixture on top of the beef mixture. Lay half the pepperoni slices on top of the ricotta mixture. Put remaining 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella over the pepperoni slices, and lay the remaining pepperoni on top of the cheese.
• Bake until bubbly (about 20 minutes).

NOODLELESS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Brown ground beef and drain. Add spaghetti sauce and mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup mozzarella and Italian seasoning. Beat well with fork.
• Grease a 8x8-inch glass dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread beef mixture.
• Spread the ricotta mix. Lay half of the pepperoni on top of the ricotta mix. Put the remaining mozzarella over the pepperoni and then lay the remaining pepperoni on top of the cheese.
• Bake until bubbly (about 20 minutes).

NOODLE-LESS ZUCCHINI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the meat, season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and cook, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces as it browns, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the meat in a colander and wipe the skillet with a paper towel.
• Put the skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Return the meat to the pan, add the tomatoes, basil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer uncovered 10 minutes, until thickened.
• Meanwhile, slice the zucchini lengthwise with a mandolin into 1/8-inch-thick slices (you should have at least 30 to 35 long zucchini ribbons). Lightly salt the zucchini with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside for 15 minutes. Blot the zucchini with paper towels.
• Preheat a grill to medium heat (or preheat a grill pan over medium heat).
• Oil the grill grates or spray the grill pan with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Grill the zucchini until cooked and slightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and press to absorb excess moisture.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg. Spread 1/2 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 × 13 × 2 1/2- inch baking dish. Make a layer of the zucchini over the sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture over the zucchini and sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Make another layer of zucchini, top with 1 1/2 cups meat sauce, 1/2 cup ricotta mixture, 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients for a total of 3 layers. Finish the lasagna by topping with the remaining zucchini and meat sauce. Cover the dish with foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake 20 minutes uncovered. Add the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and bake uncovered until bubbling and the cheese is melted, 10 more minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.