The Italian side of me is in full swing these days and it’s all because of this lasagna. It’s my mom’s recipe and, really, is there anything better than your mom’s home cooking? While lasagna is a pretty clear-cut recipe, I thought I would share with you the little secrets that go into, what I consider to be, the perfect lasagna! Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
A Box of Lasagna noodles
Olive Oil
2 lb. Ground Beef
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
2 jars of Marinara
16 oz. of Ricotta Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
1 large egg
2 lb. sliced mozzarella
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375º.
**Before you cook the pasta, take your ricotta cheese and place it all in a wide dish, spreading it out as far as you can, so that the cheese is not clumped altogether. Cover it with a paper towel, changing out for new paper towels every 25 minutes. This is to take as much moisture out of the ricotta, ensuring that the lasagna will not become too moist when it is time to eat.
2. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, less 2 minutes. Drain and drizzle a bit of olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking together.
3. Next, in a large pot over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Drain. Then return the beef to the skillet and add the garlic and oregano. Season with salt and pepper before adding the marinara and stir until it is completely warmed through.
4. Following that, combine the ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and the egg in a large mixing bowl and season with some salt and pepper.
5. In your preferred casserole dish, evenly spread a quarter of the meat sauce across the bottom of the dish, then top with a single layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of the ricotta mixture, and a single layer of the mozzarella slices. Repeat the layers, topping the last layer of noodles with meat sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400º and bake uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
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