Lisas Killer Lasagne 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.

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!

"KILLER" LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown the sausage and ground meat and drain all the fat.
• Add all the other ingredients for the meat filling and simmer on the stove, uncovered, for about 1/2 hour.
• I usually add a bay leaf or two.
• Mix up the cheese filling and set aside in fridge until ready to use.
• Put the noodles in salted water and cook until soft when poked with a fork.
• When the noodles are done, drain the noodles and rinse off with cold water so they can be handled easily.
• Spray the baking pan with a non-stick spray and put a layer of noodles down on the bottom of the pan. It is OK to cut some of the noodles to fit into the pan if they do not fit whole.
• Spread half the cheese filling over the noodels, then half of the mozarella cheese on top of that, then half of the meat sauce over the grated mozarella cheese.
• REPEAT layers and then top with more mozarella cheese.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
• Leftovers can be easily stored in the freezer.

LISA'S LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the peppers and saute for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and saute 3 minutes before adding the tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes (the longer the better as long as the sauce is not sticky.)
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• While the sauce cooks, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan. Add the flour into the butter, stir vigorously for 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese, reserving as much as you will want to sprinkle on top of the lasagna. Stir the cheese into the flour and butter mixture until it has melted completely. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• Soak the lasagna noodles in water for 30 seconds.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared dish with some of the tomato sauce, followed by a layer of the lasagna sheet, and the cheese sauce. Continue layering these ingredients ending with a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle the final layer of cheese sauce with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and the reserved cheese.
• Bake the lasagna 40 to 50 minutes, until the top of the lasagna is golden brown.