When it comes to pasta dishes, Italian cuisine reigns supreme. Pasta, after all, was invented in Italy as far back as the 1100s! Throughout that time, many different kinds of pasta were invented along with many different (and delicious) sauces. In America, eating spaghetti bolognese is probably pretty common to most of us, as is a fettuccini alfredo, for example. Still, there are few pasta dishes that are as filling or as satisfying as a well-made lasagna.
Unlike many of the other pastas out there, lasagna acts more like a casserole than an actual noodle or pasta dish. That’s because the lasagna noodles themselves are more like the structural layer containing all the ingredients (including the sauce) rather than the ultimate focus of the meal. The meal itself is all about the combination of flavors. Fortunately, the recipe we have for you today has a near perfect combination of them to make an authentic and delicious dinner for you and your family. That’s right, this is the perfect lasagna dish—so let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 pound of sweet Italian sausage
- 1 pound of lean ground beef
- 1 large white onion, minced
- 5 crushed cloves of garlic
- 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 6-ounce cans of tomato paste
- 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup of chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons of white sugar
- 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon of ground oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley (plus two tablespoons)
- 1 pound of lasagna noodles
- 30 ounces of ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 pound of deli-sliced mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Here’s what you do:
1. To get started, get a large pot and set it over medium heat. Throw in your ground sausage and ground beef and use a spoon to break it all up into smaller pieces. Add your onion and garlic as well and keep cooking everything until the meat is well browned and cooked through, stirring throughout.
2. Next, add in your sugar, basil, fennel, oregano, salt, pepper and parsley as well. Add your crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Stir everything together and bring the heat down to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for one to four hours (depending on how much you want the flavors to combine).
3. After that, get out a pan and put your lasagna noodles in the bottom of it. Pour in some hot water on top of the noodles until they’re completely submerged. Let the noodles soak for about 30 minutes before draining and getting rid of the water. Set the noodles aside.
4. Next, get out a mixing bowl and combine your ricotta and egg with your two additional tablespoons of parsley. Add your salt and nutmeg as well, stirring everything together. Throw that in the fridge until you’re ready to combine everything!
5. When you’re ready to cook, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease up a deep 9×13 inch pan. Pour about one cup of your meat sauce into the pan, put four noodles on top of that and spread a third of your ricotta mix on top. Top that with roughly a quarter of your mozzarella. Next, add another cup and a half of meat sauce and add a quarter cup of parmesan on top. Repeat this process two more times or until all the mixture is used up! Cover it with foil when you’re done.
6. Put the entire thing in the oven to bake for about 25 minutes. After that, take the foil off and bake it for another 25 minutes so that the cheese can turn brown. When it’s done, serve hot!
As you can see, this recipe does take a little bit more preparation and time compared to some of the recipes you may be used to. Still, the results of this meat sauce are truly decadent and absolutely delicious. While we have our own idea of what lasagna is in America, this recipe should give you a taste of just how amazing an authentic Italian lasagna dish can be. Give this one a shot and let us know what you think!
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