Tried True Lasagna 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.

PERFECT SPINACH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish or lasagna pan .
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with half of the drained and squeezed spinach, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, the egg, garlic powder, and salt. Mix to blend well.
• Mix the remaining half of the drained spinach with the marinara sauce .
• Spread about 1/2 to 1 cup of the marinara-spinach mixture over the bottom of the baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom.
• Top with a layer of noodles.
• Top the noodle layer with about 3/4 cup of the marinara; spread over the noodles.
• With a small spoon, put about one-third of the ricotta mixture over the sauce layer, spacing evenly in small dollops, then sprinkle with about one-quarter of the mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat, making two more layers of the noodles, sauce, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella.
• Top with another layer of noodles, the rest of the sauce, shredded mozzarella, and the remaining half of the grated Parmesan cheese.
• Grease a sheet of foil large enough to fit over the lasagna. Cover the lasagna tightly with the foil, greased side down. If your baking pan is very full, place a foil-lined baking sheet on a lower rack to catch spills.
• Bake the lasagna for about 45 minutes, or until very hot and you can see it is beginning to bubble.
• Remove the foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes longer, until very hot and the cheese has melted.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

TRIED & TRUE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta and hold in a pot of lukewarm water; set aside.
• Brown the meat, then add sauce, soup, seasonings; let simmer for a few minutes to meld the flavors. Feel free to add some water to keep the sauce "loose" --
• In a small bowl, mix cottage cheese and parmesan cheese; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Layer in pan in the following order --
• Three to four noodles, HALF the meat sauce.
• Three to four noodles, half the cottage-parmesan cheese (spread dollops out evenly).
• Three to four noodles, sprinkle two cups of mozzarella cheese.
• Three to four noodles, remaining meat, cottage-parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese.
• Finish with remaining parmesan.
• Pop in the oven for 60 minutes; let stand 10-15 minutes before serving (easier to cut and serve).
• NO COOK NOODLE METHOD: Leave lasagna uncooked; use same number of noodles, just spread them out so they are evenly distributed in their layers. When all layers are in the pan, pour in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup very HOT water around edges. Cover pan TIGHTLY with foil to create a steamy environment. Check the noodles after 1 hr 15 minutes; if soft, remove foil completely (you might want to add a bit extra cheese at this point), pop back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes to get golden brown and bubbly.
• NOTE: use any combination of meat or all of one kind--whatever you like!

LASAGNA TRIED AND TRUE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil, add onions, garlic and meat, and saute until meat browns. Add undrained tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, half the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper. Mix well, then simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oregano and correct seasoning. If sauce seems dry-ish, add the 1/2 cup of water or stock.
• Place cottage (or ricotta) cheese in a mixing bowl with the Parmesan cheese, remaining parsley, one or two eggs, and beat with a spoon until thoroughly mixed. Season to taste.
• Oil a large lasagna or square casserole dish.
• Spread a layer of tomato/beef sauce over the bottom of the dish. Make sure the sauce is spread right to the edges of the dish. Follow with a layer of lasagna noodles, then a layer of the cottage or ricotta cheese mixture, and top with the Swiss cheese.
• Repeat layering, finishing with a layer of Swiss cheese.
• Bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is browning.
• Leave to stand 10 minutes in a warm place before slicing.