8 October, 2020
Maria’s Lasagna
This lasagna recipe has balance and great flavor. Maria if you don’t know is my wonderful wife. She searched and gave me the optimal recipe from the net (credit to allrecipies.com) and we adjusted as we preferred. Big hit with the kids, one of which is quite picky.
Ingredients:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage **this can be hard to find in your local store sometimes, buying the sweet Italian sausage links and removing from casing works just fine
3/4 lb ground meat (i prefer lean)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 lb mozzarella cheese – sliced
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tblsp parsley (divided in 2)
1 tsp salt (divided in 2)
2 tsp basil
2 tblsp sugar
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz)
2 cans tomato sauce (6.5 oz)
1 package lasagna noodles
1 tub ricotta cheese (6 oz)
1 egg
Directions
Make your mix, this is where the taste comes thru so pay attention and smell as you cook. Adjust your spices as you see fit.
In a large sauce pan brown sausage and ground beef. Add onions and garlic early in the browning process to integrate flavors. Make sure is well done.
Add all canned tomatoes (crushed, paste, and sauce) plus add 1/2 cup water. Stir in.
Add spices; fennel, Italian seasoning, pepper, 2 tblsp parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, basil, sugar.
Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. During this process stir on occasion and note the smell. This is usually where I add more basil or parsley depending on if it’s fresh or dried to get the right flavor. Dried spices have to cook out to release the flavor, the smell will help you determine if you did enough.
In separate bowl mix ricotta cheese, beaten egg, 2 tblsp parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Boil and cook your lasagna noodles (follow directions on the package you selected), when done run cold water over it in the colander.
Start stacking, spread things evenly and be sure to generously cover each layer. The measurements for spreading can vary based on your pan size. Standard lasagna pans is the 9 by 13 baking dish. Each line below is a new layer/spread.
Spread meat sauce on the bottom, 1 1/2 cup should be enough
Cover with noodles evenly
1/2 of ricotta cheese bowl
1/3 of the mozzarella cheese slices
1 1/2 cups meat sauce
Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Repeat layers and top off with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese
Oven at 375 for 25 minutes covered in foil (note you might want to grease the foil or put it on as a bubble on top so it’s not touching the top ingredients
Remove foil and bake for 25 more minutes
Remove and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving
Serve with garlic bread for the best pairing.
