Martha Gooch Lasagna Box Recipes

THREE LAYER LASAGNE WITH RICOTTA AND MEAT SAUCE | BARILLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions; drain and separate.
• In a large saucepan, combine cooked meat and 1 ½ jars sauce, simmer 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, 3 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, Parmigiano cheese and eggs.
• Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spread ¾ cup Barilla sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place 3-4 lasagne sheets on the bottom, slightly overlapping.
• Spread half of the cheese mixture over lasagne and cover with ½ of the meat sauce.
• Repeat for 2 more layers.
• Cover last layer with remaining lasagne sheets and remaining Barilla sauce.
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Meat Sauce: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor; add to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Assembly: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks). Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles; top with 3 more noodles. Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more. Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.) Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.

FAMOUS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt water; add noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Lay noodles on a baking sheet, separating layers with parchment or waxed paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, parsley, and egg. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Begin layering: Place 4 noodles in dish, slightly overlapping. Top with half the meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top with half the ricotta filling, then half the mozzarella. Repeat the layering process, ending with the mozzarella. Sprinkle top with Parmesan.
• Cover with lightly oiled foil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake until bubbling and browned, 30 to 40 minutes more. Let cool 10 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.

NO-BOIL CHEESY LASAGNA (VEGETARIAN) WITH OPTIONAL MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine ricotta, parmesan, and eggs and mix well.
• In a 9x13 dish, spread about 1/3 of the sauce. (About 1 cup.).
• Layer with half each of the uncooked lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, remaining pasta sauce, and mozarella.
• Repeat layering.
• Cover tightly with alumninum foil and bake covered for 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA WITH CHARD, TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil while you prepare the chard. Fill a bowl with ice water. Tear the leaves from the stems and wash thoroughly in two changes of water. Discard the stems or set aside for another purpose.
• When the water comes to a boil, add the Swiss chard leaves. Boil 1 minute (from the time the water comes back to a boil), until tender but still bright green, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon or skimmer and transfer to the ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside. Cook the lasagna noodles in the same pot of water if not using no-boil lasagna. Remove from the pot and toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil in a bowl.
• In a wide, nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprig, and salt (begin with 1/2 teaspoon and add more later), and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring often, until thick, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the amount of juice in the pan. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove the basil sprig. Stir in the Swiss chard and remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil a square or rectangular baking dish (no bigger than 2-quart) and line the bottom with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread half the ricotta over the noodles and half the tomato-chard sauce over the ricotta. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the tomato-chard sauce. Add another layer of noodles and top with the remaining ricotta and tomato-chard sauce, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Finish with a layer of noodles and the remaining Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes, or until bubbling and the pasta is tender. Uncover, allow to sit for 5 minutes, and serve.

8-LAYER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place porcini mushrooms in a small bowl with enough warm water to cover; let stand 30 minutes.
• Drain mushrooms. If a more pronounced mushroom flavor is desired, strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve and set aside. Chop mushrooms and set aside.
• Using a piece of kitchen twine, tie together bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and 2 whole cloves; set aside.
• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add onions, celery, and carrots, reduce heat to medium, and cook until very soft but not brown, about 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add pork and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to vegetable mixture, reserving skillet. Add tomato paste to pork and vegetable mixture and cook 2 minutes. Meanwhile, add Marsala to reserved skillet and bring to a boil, stirring with wooden spoon or spatula, scraping up all the browned bits from bottom of pan. Pour Marsala over pork and vegetable mixture, place saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by one-third, 30 to 45 minutes. Add chicken stock, herb bundle, and mushroom soaking liquid (if using); stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper; set aside to cool. Remove herb bundle.
• Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add cremini mushrooms and reserved porcinis; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Fold mushrooms into pork mixture; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush 12 4 1/2-by-2-inch ramekins with melted butter. Place one pasta round in bottom of each ramekin. Top round with 1 teaspoon Parmigiano-Reggiano. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoons scoop, top cheese with 1 scoop of meat mixture, then 2 teaspoons bechamel sauce. Repeat process until you have 8 layers, finishing with pasta; keep in mind you may not need to use all the pork mixture. Top final layer of pasta with bechamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
• Transfer ramekins to baking sheet lined with parchment paper and fitted with wire rack. Cover ramekins with parchment-lined foil and bake until sauce is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment-lined foil, increase heat to 425 degrees, and continue baking until crisp on top, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes. Serve immediately with extra cheese and meat sauce.

LASAGNA WITH ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH AND BéCHAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut the squash into big chunks, brush the exposed flesh with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes or until squash is tender enough to be pierced through to the skin with a paring knife. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can handle it, then cut away the skin and cut in thin slices. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees
• While the squash is in the oven, make the béchamel. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until it has softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw flour taste. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Strain while hot into a large measuring cup or a medium bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon of the sage
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a rectangular baking dish. Spread a spoonful of béchamel over the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread a thin layer of the béchamel over the noodles. Top with half the squash. Season the squash with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with béchamel and Parmesan. Sprinkle the remaining sage over the top. Make sure the noodles are well coated with béchamel so they will soften during baking
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Uncover and, if you wish, bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the top begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving

LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and a generous pinch of salt and cook for half as long as the package suggests. Drain and float in cold water. (Skip this step if noodles are precooked.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, fry the sausage links until cooked through, about 10 minutes. With kitchen scissors, cut the sausage into disks in the pan and continue to fry over low heat until the cut surfaces are crispy, about 20 minutes. Drain off the fat.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the egg, ricotta, and 1/2 cup of the pecorino.
• To assemble the lasagna, spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drain and pat dry the noodles. Overlap one third of the noodles atop the sauce to cover the pan bottom. Spread all the cooked sausage over the noodles and spoon over another cup of sauce. Lay down the second third of noodles. Evenly dollop all the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles and flatten with the spoon to make an even layer. Top with the remaining noodles to completely cover the cheese. Pour over 1 1/2 to 2 cups sauce to cover. Evenly lay all the mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle around the remaining 1/4 cup pecorino and drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling all over and lightly golden on top. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with grated cheese and warmed extra sauce at the table.

LASAGNA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND ROASTED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil lightly with olive oil. Slice the eggplant 1/3 inch thick, sprinkle with salt and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place on the baking sheet and roast 15 to 20 minutes, until the slices are lightly colored on the bottom and soft to the tip of a knife. Remove from the oven, and carefully fold the foil over and crimp the edges together (be careful not to burn yourself!). Let the eggplant cool and steam in the foil packet for 20 minutes. Set aside and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish. Blend the ricotta cheese with the egg, water, cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and 3 tablespoons of Parmesan to make sure you have enough for the top layer of the lasagna.
• Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with a thin layer of ricotta. Spoon on a few dollops then spread it with an offset or a rubber spatula. Top the ricotta with half the eggplant, and sprinkle basil and half the mozzarella over the eggplant. Top with a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat the layers, then add a final layer of lasagna noodles topped with ricotta if any remains, and most importantly with the tomato sauce and Parmesan you set aside. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

QUICK FIX LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
• Place small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan.
• Place 3 strips of uncooked lasagna noodles in pan; spread with 1/3 spaghetti sauce, 1/3 ricotta and 1/3 mozzarella cheeses.
• Repeat layers twice.
• Sprinkle with romano cheese.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and bake 30 minutes longer.
• Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.