Eat Well, Live Happy: Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those meals that is perfect for either an average night at home, to give away to a family or friend in need of a meal, or for a holiday. You can make it the same day you want to eat it, the day before, or even a while before and freeze it. I've always loved lasagna, but I really love it when my mom makes it with homemade ricotta (which is actually very easy to make). The photos below are from August but I kept forgetting to post this recipe - I have only made lasagna on my own once, but it was delicious. I made my own ricotta a day in advance, then made the bolognese sauce and assembled the lasagna and cooked it the following day. I also made a super simple dutch oven bread to serve with it.

Below is my Grandma Filomena's lasagna recipe, along with her bolognese sauce recipe. I always make my sauce a little different each time I make it. I usually use a mixture of half ground beef and half ground sausage. I chop the onion instead of browning it whole and I add 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic. Sometimes I also put 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks through a mini food processor and then add those to the sauce. If I have fresh basil I'll add some to the blender while blending the whole tomatoes. Sometimes I use cans of tomato sauce or other types of tomatoes, depending on what I have big cans of. If I have red wine, I add a generous amount to the sauce which makes it taste even more delicious. And finally, I add chopped fresh parsley to the sauce once it is finished cooking.

I made this in my Le Creuset 5.25-Quart Signature Rectangular Roaster, but it can be made in any lasagna or roasting pan. I chose to make it in this pan because the sides are higher than other pans I have so I didn't have to worry about it spilling over in the oven (but I still put a sheet pan underneath just in case). This made a lot for my small family of 4, so I gave some pieces to a friend and then we enjoyed the rest for leftovers for a few nights.

This lasagna was delicious! I hope to try it again soon and to one day use homemade lasagna noodles, when I can find the time to make them!

Lasagna

Bolognese Sauce:

It is a good idea to make a double recipe of the sauce so that there is some left over to serve over the lasagna.

2 Tablespoons bacon drippings or olive oil

1 pound ground beef (chuck, sirloin, round)*

* Variation: use part ground pork or add a piece of pork (browned)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small whole onion, lightly browned

28-ounce Hunts Italian or Whole Tomatoes – blend in blender until smooth

6-ounce can Hunts Tomato paste

1 6-ounce can of water

Fresh parsley

Brown whole onion and ground meat in saucepan. Add tomatoes that have been blended until smooth. Add salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and water and continue cooking slowly for about 1½ hours.

Ricotta Mixture:

Mix together:

2 pounds Ricotta cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten – increase number of eggs if ricotta is very dry

Salt and pepper to taste

½-¾ pound Mozzarella cheese (granted, chopped or sliced)

Parmesan or Romano grated cheese

Add lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper to ricotta. This mixture is spread on the noodles. Mozzarella cheese and parmesan or romano cheese are sprinkled over the sauce.

Lasagna Noodles*:

Boil lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling water and add a couple of tablespoons of oil to water so that lasagna noodles won’t stick together. When noodles are al dente, drain.

13” x 9” Lasagna Pan: Add a small amount of sauce on the bottom of pan. Place one layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread one third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, add sauce and grated cheese. Repeat the process and finish lasagna with a layer of noodles, sauce and grated cheese.

*Variation: Use Barilla Oven Ready/No Boil lasagna noodles. Carefully hold each noodle in your hand and spread the ricotta mixture on noodle. Leave a ½ inch edge on one long side of the noodle. Spread mixture on next noodle. Overlap the filled long side of second noodle on the ½ inch empty edge of first noodle. Continue to fill the bottom of the lasagna dish. The noodles can be broken to the size that is needed to fill the space in the dish. Continue with cheeses, sauce and begin next layer. End with layer of noodles, sauce and grated cheese.

Bake 30-45 minutes at 350°. Cover with aluminum foil first 30 minutes and uncover last 15 minutes of baking.

If freezing lasagna: Freeze before baking. When ready to use, thaw and bake approximately 15-20 minutes longer than if baking freshly made lasagna.