Recipe Request... LASAGNA

Does anyone have a successful, killer lasagna recipe that they care to share?

Thanks!

I have my own secret recipe, but it is based on the easy to make and very good recipe from the Better Homes Cook Book. I got that book in college and it has been a great reference. For years I kept it hidden in fear that if anyone saw it they would think I got my entire recipe list out of a common book, but now it holds a prominent place on my desk.

The recipe in the book is actually a lot simpler than this one they posted on their site, but this one is still a good start:

meaty lasagna bolognese
Prep: 45 min.
Bake: 50 min.

ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
8 oz. bulk Italian sausage
4 oz. pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole milk or half-and-half
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh sage
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (4 ounces)
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 10-oz. container refrigerated alfredo pasta sauce
directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. For meat sauce: In a large pot, cook ground beef, sausage, pancetta, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic over medium-high heat until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat.

  2. Stir in milk. Simmer, uncovered, until milk is nearly evaporated. Stir in wine and broth. Simmer, uncovered, until liquid is nearly evaporated. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sage, parsley, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper. In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

  3. To assemble, spread one-third of the meat sauce over the bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole. Sprinkle with one-fourth of the cheese mixture. Top with noodles. Repeat layering meat sauce, cheese mixture, and noodles two more times. Spread the alfredo sauce evenly over the noodles.

  4. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese mixture. Bake, uncovered, about 10 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 9 or 10 servings.

nutrition facts
Calories 631, Total Fat (g) 38, Saturated Fat (g) 17, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 12, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 2, Cholesterol (mg) 95, Sodium (mg) 1157, Carbohydrate (g) 38, Total Sugar (g) 6, Fiber (g) 1, Protein (g) 32, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Very secret recipe that I won’t openly post… I will email it to you. Very good and simple recipe. After all simple is the key in food prep.

Are you going to be making the sauce yourself? Do you need that recipe? That really is the key to the lasagna, in my opinion. It is sacrilege to add meat to the layers of lasagna in my family. We may serve it with sausage, neckbones, or meatballs, but never have ground beef in the layers. So the recipe is very simple. Make a filling out of Ricotta, Egg, parsley, parmesean (add oregano and basil if you like) and garlic. Par-cook the noodles. Lay down a layer of sauce, then pasta, then the filling. Repeat as many layers as you’d like (usually 4 layers) and top with sauce. I cover with foil and bake at a lower temp (325) until done. You can add mozzarella on the top toward the end.

Again, I think the key is the sauce. As most know, a good pizza sauce is usually NOT a good pasta sauce.

I know this isn’t a recipe and you’ll have to experiment with ratios yourself but I hope it helps. The beauty of this is that it adds another vegetarian dish to your menu while permitting you to sell add-ons like meatballs, sausage (and hopefully neckbones because no good sauce can be made without neckbones :smiley: )

Patrick