Lasagna

Lasagna Ingredients

3 – 4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 cup onion diced

5 garlic cloves, minced
Add a little of your salt and pepper with the onions and garlic

1 1/2 – 2 pounds ground beef (I use 85/15 or you can use 93/7 if you’re trying to make it lower fat)
Add a little of your salt and pepper on top of the meat.

2 (14 ounce each) cans diced tomatoes

2 – 3 teaspoons dried oregano

1 bay leaf (optional)

2 (6 ounce each) cans tomato paste

1 cup water

1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (taste to decide, it depends on the ripeness/sweetness and amount of acid in the tomatoes)

2 teaspoons Kosher salt (I add in a small amount after each ingredient totaling about 2 teaspoons but you can adjust this to your own taste, see video for how to properly add the salt).

1 teaspoon pepper

lasagna noodles (I use and recommend whole wheat, not only for the flavor but I feel they give a better texture in the finished lasagna)

It is at this point that I have realized that there are no measurements for any of the cheeses in my lasagna, so these are my best guesses.

1 1/2 pounds mozzarella (shredded)

6 ounces ricotta cheese

1 – 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

Instructions for the Lasagna

1. Saute the onion and garlic with a bit of salt in the olive oil. Once the onions start to become translucent, add the beef along with 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and a bit of black pepper, mix it in with the onions and garlic and cook until it’s browned.

2. If you did not use a lean meat you may want to drain the grease but you don’t have to, if you used the 93/7 this is not necessary.

3. Add the tomatoes, oregano, the bay leaf if you’re using it, a pinch of salt and pepper, a cup of water and the sugar. Allow to simmer.

4. Start your noodle water – use a large pot (mine is 8 quarts) and a lot of salt (I use 7 quarts of water to 1/4 cup iodized salt (read my salt article to learn how to properly use salt)).

5. When your water is at a rolling boil, add the noodles. Reduce the heat slightly and stir the noodles for the first 30 seconds (this will help them not stick together).

6. Boil the noodles for 8 minutes. Drain them in a colander and dunk in an ice bath or run cold water over them until cool. Drain well and toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

7. In a large baking pan begin layering your lasagna – a thin layer of sauce goes down first – there is a how to video at the end of this recipe that will show you how I layer mine.

8. Here’s the order from the bottom – sauce, then noodles, sauce, *ricotta cheese, **mozzarella. Now start over at the noodles, then sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and repeat starting with the noodles until you have three layers, finish with parmesan on the top.

*For the ricotta cheese drop small spoons (about 1/2 teaspoon) here and there but do not cover the sauce- you just want to get a bite of it sometimes.

**For the mozzarella cheese, just try to use equal amounts in each layer.

9. Bake at 350° F for about an hour, up to an hour and a half – just watch for the top to turn those beautiful shades of gold and brown.
*Just as a side note, I make a larger version of this. I use 12 noodles and double the sauce and add some extra cheese. I always end up with a little extra sauce, but the kids like to eat it while the lasagna cooks with buttered bread. Also, Grandma puts sauce as her top layer, I like cheese on top-it’s up to you, both ways are good!