Lasagna. It seems like such a simple dish that will result in many freezable meals (9 to be exact). Always looking for a way to have already-prepared lunch or dinner options, I decided this weekend was the time to conquer the classic Italian food. I mean, how much work can layering different ingredients be?
Three hours later, I ended up with this:
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| Not too shabby. Just a long process! |
Ingredients for Lasagna:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
1 package (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can pureed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon each of dried: thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley
The tomato sauce takes a good hour itself, so start this before anything else. While making the sauce, leave the milk on the counter so it can reach room temperature. Also leave out the frozen spinach to thaw.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and the rest of the spices (bay leaves through parsley). Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and remove pot from heat.
Feel free to use just some store-bought sauce. I personally can’t do it. Who told all the sauce companies that sugar should be a main ingredient? Gross. So yeah, the 25% of me that is Italian absolutely cannot handle sauce out of a jar. I digress…
Next, to make the béchamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in another pot. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.
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| um. “smooth”? yeah, I don’t know what happened |
Gradually add in milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat. Make sure the heat isn’t up too high; you don’t want the milk to burn! Stir until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.
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| it should coat the back of a wooden spoon, like this |
Remove from heat and add to tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
While the sauce is cooling, cook the lasagna according to the package directions. Lay lasagna pieces out individually on a tin foil so that they don’t stick together.
In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Break up large clumps to make sure all parts of the meat are browned, until there is no more pink meat. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To assemble (in a lasagna pan):
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| line bottom with lasagna sheets |
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| add 1/3 of bechamel sauce |
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| add all of the ricotta mixture |
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| add all of the spinach |
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| another layer of pasta sheets |
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| add all of the meat |
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| add half of the mozzarella cheese (1 bag) |
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| add another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce |
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| one last layer of pasta sheets |
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| add the last of the bechamel sauce |
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| top with remaining mozzarella cheese |
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| add Parmesan cheese and thin slices of 2 tbsp of butter |
To cook, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the lasagna pan on top, cover with tin foil and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.
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| woo! finally done! |
Allow to cool if you plan on putting into individual containers (as I did). I find it hard to believe that something with this much cheese, pasta, and sauce could honestly taste bad. But seeing how much not-so-good-for-you things went into this, I think I’d sub in some “less” bad ingredients next time (skim milk, partially skim cheese, low fat ricotta, ground turkey).
Although this was quite the task, I think it was totally worth it. I’ve already had this for lunch one day this week and have plenty more stored away in my freezer for future meals. Yum.
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| so. many. meals. |
Shallots bring a new dimension to the traditional red sauce. I like to add about 1 large shallot with my garlic. I also use some sherry/balsamic vinegar and about a 1/2 cup of red wine to add some depth/complexity to the tomato sauce. Also try using imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes– they are limited in production and have a sweet flavor. Really makes a different in the sauce!