I put together this recipe from a few different sources to create the perfect crowd-pleasing lasagna for my in-laws. It was a huge success. After 8+ years of shtupping their son, I finally won their approval. That's how good the lasagna turned out. If you don't have fresh basil at home I recommend buying the little frozen tray of herbs in the frozen foods section. It's cheaper than buying fresh herbs and they last forever. Dried herbs are never as good. Have some self respect and get some fresh herbs in your kitchen. You are worth it.
BH Lasagna Meat Sauce:
1 whole chopped red pepper
1 whole chopped green pepper
1 medium chopped onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound of ground beef
1 can tomato paste (small)
1 tsp of cracked black pepper
6 minced cloves of garlic
5 basil leaves (chopped fine)
1/2 tablespoon oregano
2 tsp of salt
14 ounces of tomato sauce
In a medium to large sized pot, heat up your olive oil on high heat. Now, add in your ground beef, coat with cracked black pepper and cook through. This should take approximately 5 minutes.
Once cooked through, remove the ground beef from the pot and put in the peppers (red and green), onions, half of your minced garlic and your herbs. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the peppers are soft.
Next, add in the tomato sauce and paste, season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium heat for 1 hour.
BH Lasagna Filling:
2 whole eggs, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs. Ricotta cheese
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
In large mixing bowl, add the eggs, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and garlic. Mix well with a whisk. Add the flour, and salt and pepper. Mix until completely incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again to be sure all is incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate.
To Assemble Lasagna:
6 sheets lasagna noodles
Lasagna filling (recipe above)
Meat sauce (recipe above)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
10 oz mozzerella cheese, grated
Using rubber spatula, spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom of 8 qt baking pan. Lay a sheet of pasta over sauce. Spread 3 cups of lasagna filling evenly over pasta with spatula. Spread 3 oz of marinara sauce evenly over ricotta filling. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese on top. Place another pasta sheet on top.
Repeat creating a total of 6 layers of pasta and 5 layers of filling. You will finish lasagna with a sheet of pasta. Spread 8 oz of marinara on top.
Cover lasagna with 2 layers of plastic wrap. Then 2 layers of aluminum foil. If you like, you can assemble lasagna the day before and store in refrigerator overnight.
To cook:
Remove plastic wrap, cover with the 2 layers of foil. Bake in a 350F oven for approximately 2 1/2 hours or until instant read thermometer reads 155F.
Melt grated provolone over top. Allow lasagna to rest for 15 minutes. Cut into portions and serve with additional marinara and grated parmesan.
This is good stuff. Thanks! I added some extra cheeses to the top and it was a big hit at my dinner party.
Posted by: Pauly | September 07, 2011 at 11:07 AM