Lasagna recipes

[JennyMominRI]

Do you make Lasagna?
Do you have a good recipe?
Any tips?
I make pretty decent lasagna ,but I'd love a change

 

[tarmand]

Bump since I want to make lasagna tonight and don't know how!

 

[Christine]

I'm at work, so I don't have my recipe with me but, in my opinion, the "secret" to a good lasagna is the sauce you use. I make a homemade meat sauce that takes me about 3 hours.

The lasagna filling itself should have good quality cheeses in it (ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan) eggs, nutmeg. When buying mozzarella, get the kind you shred yourself-stay away from preshredded--it is more dry and won't give you a "wet and juicy" lasagne.

I like to go "heavy" on the sauce between layers and on top because I can't stand a dry lasagna.

Again, the sauce is important. There have been times that I'm short on time and just want lasagna and I open up the jarred sauce. I don't know why, but it doesn't even come close.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'm at work, so I don't have my recipe with me but, in my opinion, the "secret" to a good lasagna is the sauce you use. I make a homemade meat sauce that takes me about 3 hours.

The lasagna filling itself should have good quality cheeses in it (ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan) eggs, nutmeg. When buying mozzarella, get the kind you shred yourself-stay away from preshredded--it is more dry and won't give you a "wet and juicy" lasagne.

I like to go "heavy" on the sauce between layers and on top because I can't stand a dry lasagna.

Again, the sauce is important. There have been times that I'm short on time and just want lasagna and I open up the jarred sauce. I don't know why, but it doesn't even come close.

This pretty much sounds like my recipe,except thenutmeg. I always say I'm going to try it then don't. I make my own sauce with sausage and Ground beef and let it simmer in the crock pot
I used,Ricotta,mozzarells,romano,parmesan and provolne cheese.
I made a double batch and have a pan of this frozen

 

[laurie31]

Okay, my recipe is just in my head, so I'll do the best I can to pull it out

Sauce:
1 lb ground chuck
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 cup water
oregano - Maybe 5 tablespoons? I don't measure it
garlic to taste - I use 5-10 cloves
some parsley - a handfull - lol

saute beef until cooked, drain. Saute onion until translucent. Add all ingredients and simmer for an hour or more. Add more water if it gets too thick.

Cheese sauce: Mix together
1 carton ricotta
1 egg



Mozerella cheese - I buy a huge block and slice it into thick slices

Parmesan cheese if desired

9 lasagna noodles (regular ones, NOT no boil, although I do NOT cook them!)


Now, this is where it gets odd. I am the only one on earth (besides my mom ) who layers lasagna like this:

Sauce
Noodles
Cheese Sauce
Cheese
Sauce
Noodles
Cheese Sauce
Cheese
Sauce
Noodles
Cheese Sauce
Cheese
Sauce

So, yes, I start with sauce, then a layer of uncooked noodles (this layer will absorb into the noodle while cooking) then spread ricotta mixture over the uncooked noodle and the layer with mozerella. Then repeat 3 times, ending with sauce. Yeah, I know the rest of the world ends with cheese. I do sprinkle Parmesan on top because I can't stand it either - lol!

Bake at 425 for 30-45 mins, until you can stick a knife in and the noodles are tender.

This is a lot of work but it is sooooooo yummy!

It's what DH wants for his birthday every year.

Laurie
ps - I hope I didn't leave anything out! I just taste the sauce until it's right

 

[Christine]

Jenny and Laurie--these basically sound like mine. I forgot, I use provolone too. Also, Laurie, I layer like you do--I start with the sauce.

 

[Christine]

I do have my sauce recipe (it's in my head):

2 28oz cans of whole tomatoes
2 6 oz cans (the small cans) of tomato paste
1.5 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp. brown sugar
Sun of Italy Italian Seasoning, 2 TBSP
Black Pepper
1 package, Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage

"Zap" each can of tomatoes in the blender for a few seconds to break up tomatoes. Add to Dutch Oven saucepan. Add tomato paste. Take one of the small tomato paste cans and fill with water 5 times (add to the saucepan). Brown ground beef and add to sauce. Throw the onion, garlic, bay leaves, spices to the mixture. Bring sauce to a boil. Once it boils for a good minute or so, reduce heat to a very low simmer. Do not cover. After two hours of simmering, brown the sausage in a skillet, drain, and add to sauce. Cook another hour. You can put the sausage in whole or sliced. If making lasagna, I recommend making small slices before browning.

 

[Saphire]

I recently made Emeril's Lasagna and it was excellent! The only thing I left out was the veal and the added salt (already enough with 5 cheeses!) Here is the recipe.


2 cups fresh ricotta
8 ounces grated Provolone
8 ounces grated Mozzarella
8 ounces grated Romano
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon chiffonade of fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe of Emeril's Meat Sauce, recipe follows
1/2 pound grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 package of dried lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, Provolone, Mozzarella, Romano, egg, milk, basil and garlic. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. To assemble, spread 2 1/2 cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of a deep dish lasagna pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the grated cheese over the sauce. Cover the cheese with 1/4 of the dried noodles. Spread a 1/4 of the cheese filling evenly over the noodles. Repeat the above process with the remaining ingredients, toping the lasagna with the remaining sauce. Place in the oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving. Slice and serve.


Emeril's Meat Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 pound ground beef
1/3 pound ground veal
1/3 pound ground pork
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 (28-ounce) can of peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
4 cups beef stock or water
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano

In a large nonreactive saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. In a mixing bowl, combine the meat. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. When the oil is hot, add the meat and brown for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the tomato paste with the stock and add to the tomatoes. Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, basil and red pepper. Mix well. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add more liquid if needed. During the last 30 minutes or cooking, reseason with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

 

[caitycaity]

the best lasagna i have ever had is actually vegetarian. from the moosewood cookbook:

spinach lasagna bechamel

6 cups milk
1 cup butter
1 cup unbleached flour
salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated is prefered (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 cups of chopped onions
2 lbs spinach, rinsed,stemmed,and chopped
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 cups parmesan cheese, freshly grated (5 oz)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated (8 oz)
1 package lasagna noodles

sauce: heat the milk until very warm but do not bring to a boil.
in another pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
do not let the butter brown.
whisk in flour and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
gradually add the hot milk.
continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened.
add the freshly grated nutmeg if using.
saute the garlic and onions in the butter or oil until the onions are translucent.
stir in the spinach and 1/2 cup of the parsley.
add a little water if the spinach is dry.
cook until the spinach wilts then remove it from the heat.
set aside.
mix the remaining parsley, ricotta, eggs and 2/3 of the parmesan cheese together.
you may cook the lasagna until al dente or don't cook them at all.
moosewood does not cook theirs.
they just layer the raw noodles in the pan.
oil a large casserole or lasagna pan.
layer the ingredients as follows: 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sauce, 1/3 of the noodles, 1/2 of the spinach, all the mozzarella, 1 1/2 to 2 cups sauce, 1/3 of the noodles, all the ricotta mixture left, all of the spinch left, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the sauce,the remaining noodles, the rest of the sauce, sprinkling the remaining parmesan cheese on top.
cover the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
uncover the casserole and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I love veggie lasagna... Aside of spinich i'll also add zucchini.
I really do need to bite the bullet and add the nutmeg

 

[Poohgirl]

I won't list my whole recipe(they are all pretty similar), but I use a combo of 1lb hamburg and 1lb ground sausage in the sauce as well as add a pint of cottage cheese into the cheese mixture. I get told quite a bit that its the best they have ever had!

 

[thelionqueen]

We are a Siclian family, and one of our family traditions is Lasagne for Christmas. Now, unlike other recipes, ours takes days to prepare and create. I will give you the most general tips I can that maybe might be different that you've seen here or elsewhere.

1. Homemade noodles and sauce (or DeCecco dried is the best IMHO)
this truly makes a HUGE difference in taste. Pasta is really easy to make too.

2. Meatballs instead of ground beef. I make meatballs just like you would w/
spaghetti. Let them cool for an hour or so, then crumble small-med. size
chunks.

3. Link Italian sausage (sweet & hot). Cut into 1/8" round slices, fry for
about 5-10 mins or until no longer pink in fry pan.

4. Fresh grated cheeses (don't grate them until right before assembly)

5. Treat every ingredient as if it were the only one in dish. For example, taste the ricotta mixture, is it good by itself? If not, make it so. My grandma
told me that every item should be good on it's own before adding to a dish.
Some of the best advice I've ever had BTW.

6. Criss Cross Lasagna noodles per layer. For example, on bottom go
horizontally in dish, next layer go vertically. I've found this helps to keep
the layers nice and tight (don't fall all over the plate).

7. Fresh tomatoes dices very small in one layer.

8. We use veal, which we love, but I know that's taboo for others.

9. Use as many different cheeses as you can. I use Asiago, Romano, Parmiagano Reggiano, Mozzarella, Provolone, Ricotta and cottage cheese (makes ricotta not so stiff tasting).

10. Use fresh herbs in sauce and in dish. We saute' green, red & yellow bell
peppers in sauce as well as onion and lots of garlic. Give a great taste.

There are lots more "secrets" to a great lasagne but they're not coming to me off the top of my head. BTW, we only have lasagne once a year, because it costs over $100 for our lasagne (for 20 people though) but man is it GOOD!!! Happy Holidays!

 

[NMAmy]

I hesitate to tell you all this, particularly after reading these fabulous recipes. My grandmother, who was pretty widely known as being a terrible cook, had two things she made with regularity. One was tacos and one was lasagna. My aunt and my mom and dad used to just cringe when she'd make lasagna--they were all fantastic cooks who made everything from scratch. However, my cousins, my sisters, and I all refused to eat any lasagna but Nana's.

She combined hamburger, spaghetti sauce from a jar, and a block of cream cheese (you stir the cream cheese in until it melts) and this was layered with the noodles and a sprinkling of mozzerella on top. No ricotta was used in this recipe.

It sounds terrible but tastes really good. My ex-husband, who is a lasagna snob, stole the recipe from me and dd says he now makes it for his family. My sister worked at a restaurant and she told the chef about it--he tried it by adding the cream cheese to his own homemade sauce and started serving it as a regular dish. I've tried adding it to my homemade sauce (I do make my own spaghetti sauce) but it just doesn't taste the same. I used to take the leftovers in to work with me and the guys would fight over it.

So some night, if you're in a hurry for something to make, give it a shot. And say a toast to my Nana, the worst cook ever!

 

[CheshireVal]

I usually just use the recipe on the box of lasagna noodles.

 

[PlutoPony]

The sauce seems to set the tone for the whole dish IMHO..... I use good tomato puree (instead of whole tomatoes or tomato sauce) - this seems to give a richer taste and thicker sauce, no watery texture. Also I don't use any ground beef, only Italian sausage; if it's just going to be eaten by DH and I all hot, but if company's coming I mix sweet and hot.... Oh - if at all possible I make it the day before, refrigerate it overnite, then bake it. Seems to bring out the flavor (or maybe it's the Chianti that makes it seem that way ). Enjoy!

 

[S. C.]

I go to olive garden and say "I'll have the lasagna"

 

[JennyMominRI]

The sauce seems to set the tone for the whole dish IMHO..... I use good tomato puree (instead of whole tomatoes or tomato sauce) - this seems to give a richer taste and thicker sauce, no watery texture. Also I don't use any ground beef, only Italian sausage; if it's just going to be eaten by DH and I all hot, but if company's coming I mix sweet and hot.... Oh - if at all possible I make it the day before, refrigerate it overnite, then bake it. Seems to bring out the flavor (or maybe it's the Chianti that makes it seem that way ). Enjoy!

I forgot,I also add red wine. If I don't do that I add balsamic vinegar

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'm going to make lasagna again tomorrow. Will try adding the nutmeg.

 

[RobinMarie]

I agree the sauce makes the lasagna (I like Italian plum crush tomatoes to start) but some things I use which I believe makes a difference:

Whole milk ricotta and mozarella - tried the skim and lasagna is just too much work to skimp on flavor. I like to shred the moz. myself.

Fresh noodles - we have a place which makes them fresh and I love the texture.

Mix an egg with the ricotta - easier to spread between layers.

Meatballs - I prefer little meatballs in the sauce rather than ground beef but this is a personal preference.

Sausage - I love a brand made around here: Lamberti's

Parmagiano Reggiano - you can use inexpensive parm. cheese but I find it too salty and without good flavor. I use it in each layer.

I also prefer lots of layers rather than fewer layers with tons of filling inside.

I like a good, deep dish lasagna pan.

Around here there are a lot of Italian people and we all make it differently. Some people use pepperoni in the sauce, some do not. I never use Oregano in any sauce unless it's a pizza sauce. I use onion OR garlic in sauce, never both.

I love lasagna and love it MORE leftover - it tends to stick together better!

 

[JennyMominRI]

For the people who use nutmeg,I assume it goes in the cheese sauce?