Lasagna From The Kitchen Of Bernie Knight Recipes

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

SUPER CHEESY HOMETOWN LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: In a stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the beef (do not brown first), tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic salt, bay leaves and onion. Add 2 cups water. Mix until combined. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vinegar and simmer for another 30 minutes.
• For the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, basil, parsley, garlic salt, red pepper flakes, if using, and egg and stir until well blended.
• Spread 2 cups meat sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place 4 noodles over the sauce-it is okay if they overlap slightly. Dollop 2/3 cup of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, then spread it in an even layer. Top the ricotta with 4 slices ham, then 4 slices provolone. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over the provolone. Repeat the layering-sauce, noodles, ricotta, ham, provolone, mozzarella-twice more. Top with another layer of noodles, then the Parmesan and the remaining mozzarella.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake until the dish is bubbling and the noodles are cooked (you can test by poking with a sharp knife to make sure the noodles are soft), about 50 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown, another 10 to 15 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm.

LASAGNA FROM THE KITCHEN OF BERNIE KNIGHT

Steps:

• Brown ground beef, onions and garlic.
• Don’t drain.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, basil, oregano,& sugar.
• Simmer covered for 1 hour.
• Add browned sausage and butter last 15 minutes of simmer.
• Cook Lasagna noodles per package directions.
• Drain& rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
• Set noodles aside to cool.
• Blend ½ of mozzarella, Parmesan and parsley with cottage cheese.
• Build lasagna.
• Place ½ cup of sauce (not too many chunks) into bottom of 9”x 13” baking dish.
• Place layer of 3 lasagna noodles on sauce.
• Spread ½ of cheese mixture and meat sauce on the layer of noodles.
• Repeat with one more layer.
• Reserve 2/3 cup of the meat sauce for the top.
• Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top.
• Spray a piece of aluminum foil with some Pam and cover the dish.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes until lightly brown.
• Remove from oven and allow to set for at least 20 minutes before cutting.