Everyone loves a good lasagna, right? It's a great way to feed a crowd and a perfect dish to bring to a potluck. It freezes well. It reheats well. Leftovers will keep you happy for days.
Simply Recipes reader
Alton Hoover sent me his favourite recipe for lasagna which he has been cooking
since college. Alton's original recipe created enough lasagna for a
small army so I halved it. What is posted here will efficiently serve eight people.
The Secret Behind This Classic Lasagna Recipe
From what I can tell,
the secret behind Alton's lasagna is the addition of a little sugar to the
sauce and using a bit more cheese than most other recipes.
There are a few minor tweaks to his original recipe that I found necessary, for example adding a dash of wine vinegar to the sauce and changing the amount of Parmesan cheese.
How to Make
Lasagna
For this recipe, we are essentially making a thick, meaty tomato sauce and layering that with noodles and cheese into a casserole. Here's the run-down
- Start by making the sauce with ground beef, bell peppers, onions, and a combo of tomato sauce, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes. The three kinds of tomatoes give the sauce a great depth of flavour.
- Let this simmer while you boil the noodles and get the cheeses ready. We're using ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and parmesan -- like the mix of tomatoes, this 3-cheese blend gives the lasagna great flavour!
- From there, it's just an assembly job. A cup of meat sauce, a layer of noodles, more sauce, followed by a layer of cheese. Repeat until you have three layers and have used up all the ingredients.
- Bake until bubbly and you're ready to eat!
How to Store and
Reheat Leftovers
Half the pleasure of
making lasagna is enjoying the leftovers! The lasagna will keep in the fridge
for at least 5 days. Reheat individual slices in the microwave, or warm the
whole casserole (covered with foil) in the oven at 350°F until bubbly again.
How to Freeze and
Reheat Lasagna
You can also freeze the lasagna either baked or unbaked.
- To freeze unbaked lasagna: Line the pan with foil before assembling, then assemble the lasagna as directly. Let cool completely, and then freeze until solid. Once frozen, lift the frozen lasagna block from the casserole dish, wrap it in more foil, and then freeze it for up to a month.
- To reheat an unbaked frozen lasagna: Remove the lasagna from the freezer and unwrap all the layers of foil. Transfer to the original casserole dish, cover, and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Once thawed, bake as directed.
- To freeze baked lasagna: Line the pan with foil before assembling, then assemble and bake as directed. Let it cool completely, then freeze until solid. Once frozen, lift the frozen lasagna block from the casserole dish, wrap it in more foil, and then freeze it for up to a month.
- To reheat a baked lasagna: Remove the lasagna from the freezer and unwrap all the layers of foil. Transfer to the original casserole dish, cover, and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Once thawed, warm the whole casserole (covered with foil) in the oven at 350°F until bubbly again.
- To freeze and reheat individual slices: Cut the baked and cooled casserole into slices and wrap each slice individually in foil. Combine them in a freezer storage bag and freeze them for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge. To reheat, unwrap from the foil, place on a microwave-safe dish, and reheat in the microwave for a few minutes until bubbly.
Ingredients
For the meat sauce
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28-ounce)can of good-quality tomato sauce
- 3 ounces tomato paste (half a 6-ounce can)
- 1 (14-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably flat-leaf), packed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch of garlic powder and/or garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup sugar (to taste, optional)
- Salt
To assemble the lasagna
- 1/2 pound dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken)
- 15 ounces of ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) of mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced
- 1/4 pound (4 ounces) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method
Put pasta water on
to boil
Put a large pot of
salted water (1 Tbsp salt for every 2 quarts of water) on the stovetop on high
heat. It can take a while for a large pot of water to come to a boil (this will
be your pasta water), so prepare the sauce in the next steps while the water is
heating.
Brown the ground
beef
In a large skillet
heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook
until it is lightly browned on all sides.
Remove the beef with a
slotted spoon to a bowl. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat.
Cook the bell
pepper, onions, and garlic, and add back the beef
Add the diced bell
pepper and onions to the skillet (in the photo we are using yellow bell pepper and
red onions).
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the peppers softened. Add the minced garlic and cook half a minute more. Return the browned ground beef to the pan. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
Transfer to a medium-sized pot, add tomatoes and remaining sauce ingredients to build the sauce
Transfer the beef
mixture to a medium-sized (3- to 4-quart) pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato
sauce, and tomato paste to the pot.
Add the parsley,
oregano, and Italian seasonings, adjusting the amounts to taste. Sprinkle with
garlic powder and/or garlic salt, to taste.
Sprinkle with red or white wine vinegar. Stir in sugar, a tablespoon at a time, tasting after each addition, to taste. (The amount of sugar needed will vary, depending on how acidic the tomatoes are that you are using.)
Add salt to taste, and note that you will later be adding Parmesan, which is salty.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for 15 to 45 minutes, stirring often. Scrape the bottom of the pot every so often so nothing sticks to the bottom and scorches.
Remove from heat.
Boil and drain the
lasagna noodles
By now the salted
water you started heating in step one should be boiling. Add the dry lasagna
noodles and cook them to al dente, per package directions. (Note noodles may be
cooked in advance.)
Stir often to prevent it from sticking. Make sure that water remains at a full rolling boil during the
entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking.
When ready, drain in a
colander and rinse with cool water, gently separating any noodles that may be
sticking together.
Spread a little olive
oil on a large-rimmed baking sheet, and lay out the cooked noodles on this
sheet, turning them over so that they get coated with a little of the olive
oil. This will prevent them from sticking together.
Heat the oven to
375°F
Assemble the
lasagna
In a 9x13-inch casserole or lasagna dish, ladle a cup of sauce and spread it over the bottom of the dish. Arrange one layer of lasagna noodles lengthwise (about 3 long noodles, the edge may overlap, depending on your pan) over the sauce. Ladle a third of the remaining sauce over the noodles.
Sprinkle a layer of a third of the grated mozzarella on top of the lasagna sauce. Add half of the ricotta cheese, by placing cheese dollops every couple of inches. Sprinkle half the grated parmesan cheese evenly over the top of the ricotta cheese.
Apply the second layer of noodles, and top it with half of the remaining sauce. Add half of the remaining Mozzarella, the remaining ricotta cheese, and the remaining Parmesan.
Finish with another layer of noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the top layer of noodles and sprinkle with the remaining Mozzarella cheese.
Bake
Cover the lasagna pan
with aluminium foil, tented slightly so it doesn't touch the noodles or sauce).
Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Uncover in the last 10 minutes if you'd like more
of a crusty top or edges.
Cool and serve
Allow the lasagna to cool for at least 15 before serving. Leftovers will keep for about 5 days. May be reheated in a conventional oven or microwave. Leave the aluminium tent on for storage. (Try to keep the aluminium foil from touching the sauce.)
The Best Homemade Lasagna
PREP TIME: 15 mins
COOK TIME: 90 mins
TOTAL TIME: 105 mins
SERVINGS:8 servings
KAMUFOX – tasty is here
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