Foodie Friday: Hearty Lasagna

When my sister-in-law and her husband visited the weekend after we brought Junior home, she made this delicious lasagna for us. Although the recipe says that it serves four, that’s ridiculous! Four of us had very large slices, and there were plenty of leftovers that still tasted great even after a few days in the freezer. She substituted ground beef for ground turkey, and you could also make the dish leaner by substituting lower-fat dairy products, although doing so may affect the taste.

Meat Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/3 pound each ground beef chuck, ground veal, and ground pork
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 can pureed tomatoes (28 ounce size)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28 ounce size) drained

Cheese & Pasta Layers:

• 15 ounces whole milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes; add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and add ground meats, salt, and pepper; cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until meat loses its raw color but has not browned, about 4 minutes. Add cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes.

Add pureed and drained diced tomatoes and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low and simmer slowly until flavors are blended, about 3 minutes; set sauce aside. (Sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for 2 days; reheat before assembling lasagna.)

Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in medium bowl with fork until creamy; set aside.

Spread 1/4 cup of the meat sauce on the entire bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish (avoiding large chunks of meat). Place 3 noodles in baking dish to create first layer. Drop 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture down center of each noodle and level domed mounds by pressing with back side of measuring spoon.

Sprinkle layer evenly with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce evenly over cheese. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover lasagna.

Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty brown and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Cool lasagna about 10 minutes; cut into pieces and serve.

The assembled, unbaked lasagna, if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil, will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. To bake, defrost it in the refrigerator for a day or two and bake as directed, extending the baking time by about 5 minutes.

Find the recipe online here.