Italian Lasagna Food

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNE

Steps:

• For the ragu, melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat until foaming. Add the celery, carrot, onion, porcini, rosemary and some seasoning, and fry for 5 mins.
• Season the meat, add to the dish and cook for 5 mins until browned. Pour in the wine, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on the dish and cook for 1hr 30 mins, removing the lid for the final 30 mins so the sauce can reduce. The meat should be tender but not too broken up, and the sauce should be thick. Taste for seasoning. You can cook it for longer if you have time - the flavour will only improve.
• For the béchamel sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan with the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat and set aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then whisk in the flour and hot milk. Whisk vigorously until smooth, then cook for 10-15 mins until very thick. Remove the bay leaf and season, grating in nutmeg to taste. Stir in the parmesan and egg yolks, then set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Working in batches of three, plunge the pasta sheets into a pan of boiling salted water for 20 secs, just to soften, then immediately put in a bowl of ice-cold water.
• Rub oil onto the base and sides of a large baking dish. Put a layer of pasta on the base, then add a layer of ragu, followed by a layer of béchamel sauce. A good tip, for really defined layers, is to pipe the béchamel sauce over.
• Repeat this process until you have used all the pasta and ragu, and finish with a layer of béchamel sauce on top. Sprinkle the top with a generous layer of parmesan.
• Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins or until bubbling and golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 mins.
• Cut the lasagne into squares and let it sit for another 10 mins before serving - this keeps the layers defined and helps it cool down more quickly.

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.

BEST ITALIAN LASAGNA EVER!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Boil noodles and drain (you may also use uncooked noodles).
• Sauté garlic, sugar and salt.
• Add sausage and ground beef and brown, breaking into small crumbles.
• Add basil, pepper, tomatoes and paste; simmer 20-30 minutes until sauce thickens.
• Mix together in bowl, ricotta, egg and parsley (add milk if it's too thick).
• Layer sauce to cover bottom of pan, noodles 1/2 of ricotta mixture, 1/4 c of parmesan, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, sauce and parmesan.
• Bake covered for 25 minutes.
• Uncover and bake another 25 minutes.
• Let cool about 10-15 minutes then cut and serve.
• Leftovers may be frozen and then heated in the oven until hot and melty.
• Goes great with crusty garlic toast and a salad.

HOMEMADE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown meat: In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When cooked through, remove the grease.
• (Optional) Add meat to a food processor and pulse just 3-4 times until it's broken up into very small pieces. Remove to a bowl.
• Sauté Veggies: In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add the onion, spinach and bell pepper. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are softened -about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer them to the same food processor. Pulse several times until they're nearly pureed. Return mixture to the skillet.
• Add Tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Cover and allow the sauce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved crumbled ground beef and sausage, and fresh basil.
• Cook Pasta: While the red sauce simmers boil the lasagna noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Drain into a large colander and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. (You can skip this step if you are using no-boil noodles).
• Add the butter to a medium size saucepan or large skillet. Over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine 2 minutes. Gradually add in the milk, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking often so it doesn't burn on the bottom, until it thickens-- about 5-7 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Keep in mind that there will be 3 layers of lasagna, so mentally split the sauces into thirds as you layer them to make sure you have enough at the end.
• Layer: Start by layering the bottom of your greased pan with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread the red sauce over the noodles, followed by the white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges. Top with another layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
• Repeat: Add the final layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce and cheeses.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the lasagna to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.
• Serve with garlic bread or homemade breadsticks and a green salad.

LASAGNA (TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot, put the olive oil, garlic and parsley over medium high heat. When the garlic begins to brown, increase the heat and add the ground beef. Break up the beef, but keep it rather chunky. Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of salt.
• When the beef is beginning to dry up, add the tomatoes and stir well. Add more salt, then lower the heat and allow to simmer for about an hour, stirring from time to time. Taste for salt and add pepper.
• When the sauce is ready, add the torn basil leaves. Remove about a cup (8 oz) of plain sauce (leave the ground beef in the pot and save for the top layer). Refrigerate the meat sauce when cool, or set aside if using right away.
• Melt the butter in a medium pot then add the flour. Keep stirring to cook the flour for at least 5 minutes, but don't let it brown. Pour in a little of the milk, and stir quickly to incorporate.
• Continue stirring and adding milk a little at a time. Once all the milk is mixed into the flour and butter mixture, add more.
• Add more milk each time as the composition gets more sauce-like.
• When all the milk has been added, season with about 1/2 tsp salt, a dash of nutmeg and about 1/4 tsp white pepper. Taste and adjust as needed. Keep a lid on the sauce if not using right away.
• Boil the noodles in plenty of salted water, making sure to keep moving them so they don't stick together. Remove the noodles from the heat 5 minutes BEFORE the instructed time on the box.
• Reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Drain most of the water and then fill the pot with cold water just to cover the noodles. This will stop the pasta from cooking further.
• Put a thin layer of sauce (no meat) on the very bottom of the 9x13 pan.
• Add three pieces of lasagna lengthwise, then top generously with a quarter of the bechamel sauce.
• Next, dollop on the meat sauce, but don't add so much that the lasagna will only be sauce at the end.
• Sprinkle on about a quarter of the mozzarella.
• Then top with more lasagna sheets, however, this time, cut them to 9" strips so that you can place them in the opposite direction. This gives the lasagna structure so that it can hold together when cut. Cut the pieces so that it covers the bottom layer without leaving too much space.
• Repeat with the bechamel, meat sauce and mozzarella another three times so that there are 5 layers of pasta and 4 layers of filling.
• You may or may not have leftover meat sauce, depending on how much sauce you added. However, if you do use it all, take some of the reserved pasta water (about a cup) and rinse the pot with it and add it to the lasagna before the top layer goes on.
• Alternatively, just pour the water directly onto the lasagna. We didn't fully cook the pasta, so it will absorb more liquid as it cooks in the oven.
• The top of the lasagna will have the strips lengthwise, so I usually pull four (I overlap the top layer) of the best looking pieces (which aren't broken or cut) and save them for the top.
• Lastly, sprinkle some grated Parmesan on top of the lasagna before baking.
• Cover with foil (but make sure the foil doesn't touch the lasagna as tomatoes will eat through the foil) and put in a preheated 400 F (200 C) degree oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the top.
• The edges will be bubbly when you remove it from the oven, so be careful. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

THE MOST AMAZING LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add in ground sausage and ground beef. Use a spoon to break up the meat into small pieces. Add in onion and garlic and cook until meat is well browned, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar, fresh basil, fennel, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and wine*. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, place lasagna noodles into the bottom of a pan. Pour hot tap water directly over the noodles, making sure the pasta is completely immersed in the water. Let them soak for 30 minutes, then drain and discard water.
• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg. Refrigerate until ready to assemble lasagna.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a deep 9x13 pan.
• To assemble, spread about 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Place 4 noodles on top. Spread with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/4 of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Repeat layering two more times to create three complete layers. To finish, place a final layer of pasta, topped with another 1 cup of meat sauce to cover the pasta. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes to allow cheese to brown. Serve hot.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or with a napkin dipped lightly in olive oil and set aside.
• In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When turkey is cooked through, drain the grease and set aside.
• In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When the garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out.
• Remove from heat and either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring the vegetables to a blender, blend the vegetables to a paste-like mixture. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in, if using a stand-alone blender) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir.
• Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.
• While the red sauce simmers, if using lasagna noodles that need to be boiled, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Once the noodles are cooked, drain, but do not rinse. Add a dab of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip this step.
• Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the white sauce, ensuring it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowly stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish!
• To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you'll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese - so plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you don't run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.
• Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

TRADITIONAL LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble beef and sausage until no longer pink; drain. Add next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if desired., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add parsley; stir in cottage cheese, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. , Preheat oven to 375°. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles, provolone cheese, 2 cups cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella (dish will be full)., Cover; bake 50 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

ABSOLUTE BEST EVER LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground round and hot Italian sausage. Drain excess fat, add the pepperoni and cook about 1 minute.
• Add the onion, garlic, parsley, and fennel. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, basil, bay leaves, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, add the wine.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add the mushrooms and simmer another 30 minutes. (if doubling the recipe, simmer longer)
• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
• Boil the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions, drain and set aside.
• In a medium-size bowl mix the ricotta, egg, and parmesan.
• Spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce evenly in the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking pan.
• Layer 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce horizontally. Spread 2 cups of sauce over the noodles; 1/3 of the ricotta mixture and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat with the second layer of noodles placing them vertically. Repeat a third time laying the noodles horizontally.
• Bake for 1 -1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes before slicing.

EASY ITALIAN SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a skillet, crumble and cook sausage over medium heat until brown. Remove from heat and stir in pasta sauce and tomato sauce. In small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and Italian seasoning. Preheat oven to 375F. Spread 1 cup sauce into bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top with 3 noodles. Cover noodles with 1/3 of ricotta cheese mixture, 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Add last 3 noodles. Top lasagna with remaining sauce and with remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan over mozzarella. Cover and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until noodles are tender. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.

ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
• Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
• Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours.

ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions.
• Drain.
• Cook Italian sausage and ground beef; drain excess fat.
• Add onion and garlic.
• Stir and cook 5 minutes.
• Add next 7 ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.
• Combine egg, ricotta, parsley and salt in small bowl.
• In bottom of a 9x13-inch pan, spoon about 1 1/2 cups meat sauce.
• Layer 1/3 of the lasagna, 1/3 the meat sauce, 1/3 the ricotta, 1/3 the sliced olives, 1/3 the Mozzarella and 1/3 the Parmesan.
• Repeat layering.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake in a 375° oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake uncovered 25 minutes longer.
• Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.