4 Videos | Photo: The Ultimate Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pound dried lasagna noodles
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano)
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 quarts ricotta cheese, (2 containers)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Grated Parmesan and mozzarella, for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly and coat with olive oil to keep them moist and easy to work with.
Coat a large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, an oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with the ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon.
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesan. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a deep 13 by 9-inch pan with olive oil. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheeses. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.
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By UncleT'sKitchen
on February 05, 2012
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Very tasty. We have made this three times and bought an extra large pan to make it in. It's worthy of its own pan! We once weighed it and it weighs just over 20 lbs. which is what you'll gain if you eat too much!
By jmorrispsu_12829452
North Wales, 78
on January 28, 2012
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The flavours of this recipe are definitely outstanding, however I have to give it a three because it just doesn't seem to go together as it should. It is not an easy recipe that you can just follow step by step and have it come out right. A couple of hints: a little extra flour and some tomato paste to thicken it. Drop the cinnamon or use less than called for. Use about twice the amount of cream. Make the sauce well ahead of time to allow flavours to meld and time for seasoning adjustment and thickening. The flavours rock and I love the method of pureeing your veggies and herbs but this is no easy level recipe because you definitely need to be able to recognise and correct the flaws.
By skip#1
Texas
on January 11, 2012
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There are substantial errors in the recipe. The most critical is the cinnamon. Using the amount specified would render the dish inedible. If you use the specified amounts of other ingredients, you'll have two 9x13 pans of lasagne, but you'll be a little short on the noodles.
I suggest one large or two small carrot, one stalk celery, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, one cup wine, 1.5 tbs cream, and 2.25 pounds of noodles.
Cooking time was accurate, prep time understated. It took me four hours prep time, but much of that was inactive time to allow the sauce to simmer.
The taste, texture, and consistency is very pleasing assuming reduced cinnamon and wine.
I would give this recipe a solid four stars based on taste, texture, and presentation, but with the outlandish errors throughout, I can only rate it two stars. But with sensible adjustments, you'll end up with a fine lasagne.
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