Lasagna must be one of the most-decadent of all heavy comfort foods, and everyone has their favorite recipe. Before you trade out your comfort-food recipes for the lighter fare of spring, consider lasagna. It must be one of the most-decadent of all heavy comfort foods, and everyone has their favorite recipe.
There are recipes that call for using unbaked lasagna noodles, allowing them to bake in the oven with the juices from the tomatoes. It's OK, but nothing special. Then there are the recipes that call for pre-made spaghetti sauce. Forget those. You might as well settle for a pan of frozen, store-bought lasagna. Same goes for those recipes calling for store-bought marinara sauce.
Lasagna lends itself to endless ingredients. Call it a tasty catch-all for leftover meat, seafood, vegetables and cheeses ranging from blue and goat to cheddar and Monterey Jack.
But too often, a slice of home-cooked lasagna lands on your plate as a soupy mess of sauce, cheese and pasta still quite pleasing to the palate but not to the eye. That's what happened to me all too often.
Never one to call it quits, I decided to try again. My motto when trying to get a recipe right: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. In the case of lasagna, gaining weight is another issue. Lasagna isn't diet food, so I don't try different lasagna recipes every month. More like every few years.
So when I was going through a file of old recipes, I came upon one that a friend gave me years ago when I lived in West Virginia. A note at the top: "This is the best lasagna you'll ever make."
Anne BralyI took this as a challenge and set off to gather my ingredients. After visiting two grocery stores looking for ground Italian sausage -- not links -- I found it at the Super Bi-Lo in Hixson. With nothing pressing, I allowed myself the entire day to make the lasagna, and that's one thing you should do. Lasagna takes time. Time to let the grease drain from the meats, the sauce to simmer and the final production to set up so it won't be runny.
With ground beef and Italian sausage, this recipe produces a very flavorful sauce with garlic, onions and tomatoes. Unlike some lasagna recipes, this one also incorporates tomato paste into the mix, helping to thicken the sauce and add a wonderful depth of flavor. Some people prefer ricotta cheese, which I find rather tasteless. Others make bechamel sauce, which is delicious but adds even more time to your schedule. I like the tartness of cottage cheese.
The result at day's end: A beautiful, heavy casserole of lasagna. This is not an inexpensive dish to make; my ingredients came to $26.49. But this recipe makes about 12 servings, so if you break it down, each comes to about $2.21, making it an extremely economical meal to serve with a salad and garlic bread. If you don't have a large family to serve, lasagna freezes well if wrapped in several layers of foil to prevent freezer burn.
Other tips I've found helpful:
* Boil noodles in a couple of batches to keep them from sticking together. Avoid preboiled noodles. They can be gummy.
* Handle with care when removing lasagna from the oven. Too much shaking and the cheese breaks away. Possible result? A runny mess.
* Take time. Let the lasagna rest for at least 30 minutes, allowing the cheese and sauce to "set."
* If you have any leftover sauce, don't throw it out. Spoon a little on the plates and place the lasagna on top. It makes a nice presentation.
The verdict:Was this was the best lasagna I've ever made? Quite possibly. At least until I discover one better. My quest continues.
Best Lasagna Ever
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
24 ounces cottage, ricotta or farmer's cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
9 lasagna noodles
Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onion and garlic. Add salt, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, oregano, basil, diced tomato and tomato paste; stirring until well mixed. Simmer 1 hour.
Cook lasagna noodles in two batches; drain and set aside. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, 2 tablespoons parsley, Parmesan cheese and half the mozzarella.
Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In the dish, put down a layer of noodles then cover it with a combination of the meat sauce and cheese mixture; repeat layer by layer, ending with a layer of noodles covering top. Sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cheese mixture is thoroughly melted.
Let lasagna rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.