Ingredients :
- Salt
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- For the meat sauce:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For assembly:
- 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley minced, or basil leaves, for garnish
Directions :
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large stockpot or Dutch oven, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil.
- Add lasagna noodles and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking (this also removes the starch so the noodles won't stick to each other).
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, parsley, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and chill until assembling the lasagna.
- To make the meat sauce:
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add beef (or sausage) and onion, and cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, and fennel seeds. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). You should have about 2 quarts of sauce.
- To assemble and bake the lasagna:
- In the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, spread 2 cups meat sauce. Arrange a single layer of noodles over the meat sauce (I do 3 full-size noodles lengthwise and then a partial noodle crosswise).
- Spread with a heaping 2/3 cup of the ricotta mixture. Top with about 1 ½ cups (5 ounces) of mozzarella. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese.
- Spoon 2 cups meat sauce over the cheese. Make another layer of noodles, ricotta mixture (heaping 2/3 cup), mozzarella (1 ½ cups) and Parmesan (⅓ cup). Repeat layers 1 more time, for a total of 3 layers (you will have extra sauce which you can pass separately).
- Cut lasagna into twelve pieces (this makes it much easier to serve later; you can remove a piece without pulling the melted cheese off the entire lasagna). Spray a large piece of foil with nonstick spray and cover baking dish.
- Bake, covered with foil, for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes, then garnish with parsley or basil if desired.
