Lasagna

By JAmero4702

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 Tbs unsalted Butter
• 1 / Sweet Onion, chopped
• 2 lbs Ground Chuck
• 1/2 tsp each: salt, garlic powder
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (29 oz) tomato puree
• 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbs dried basil or to taste
• 10 sprigs fresh basil or to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp grated Romano cheese
• Ricotta filling:
• 1 container (32 oz) whole-milk Ricotta, drained in colander one hour.
• 2 Eggs, slightly beaten
• 3 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup each; chopped parsley, grated Parmesan cheese
• Zest of one Lemon or to taste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Noodles and assembly:
• 1 PAckage (16 oz) Dried Noodles
• 3 Tbs grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 Cup shredded Mozzarella

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

For sauce, heat the oil and butter n a dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat; add onion. Cook until onion is fragrant, about one minute.
Stir in beef, breaking it up with a spoon over medium-low heat, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, about two minutes. Stir in tomato puree and the crushed tomatoes. Stir in the dried basil. Increase heat to medium-high and heat to a boil. Stir in the basil sprigs and sugar. Stir in the Romano cheese. Lower heat to a simmer. Cook one hour.
Meanwhile, for the Ricotta filling, break up the Ricotta into small pieces in a large bowl. Mix beaten eggs, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, juice, salt, sugar, cinnamon and pepper to taste, stirring until smooth (do not over mix). Taste, then add additional salt, sugar and/or lemon if desired.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. For the noodles, heat a roasting pan or large pan of water to a boil; add salt. Cook noodles until al dente, 3-4 minutes, in batches if necessary (dried will take about 10 minutes). Remove noodles with tongs to a baking pan, keeping them flat. Add a bit of the cooking water to keep pasta supple.
Pout 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 inch buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of the Parmesan Cheese; cover completely with one-third of the noodles (overlapping is fine). Add another one-fourth of the sauce; add half of the ricotta mixture. Add one tablespoon of the Parmesan; top with 2 tablespoons of mozzarella. Cover with one third of the noodles. Add another one fourth of the sauce; top with the remaining ricotta mixture, remaining 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan and remaining 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Cover with the remaining third of the noodles. Cover with the remaining sauce. (You may have leftover noodles).

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes; uncover. Bake until top os bubbly, about 15 minutes. Set aside to rest 20 minutes before cutting.