Every once in a while, I do something quite genius. And this summer, I had a genius moment. I decided to cook lasagna, the same recipe I’ve used for years from Emeril Lagasse, which calls for ⅓ lb. ground beef, ⅓ lb. ground pork, and ⅓ lb. ground veal. The store I shopped at only sold ground veal in 1 lb. packages. So, in my moment of genius, I decided to buy a pound of each and make, here it is, 3 batches of sauce: one to use then, two to freeze for later. Right?!
This Friday, when I had occasion to make a lovely, homemade meal for a special someone, I decided that since I already had the sauce made, I’d just throw together the cheese filling and boom baby, a home-cooked meal in half the time. And guess what… it worked!
This lasagna is time consuming, but truly delicious. Heavy on the garlic, heavy on the cheese, heavy on the meat, heavy on the comfort.
I’d like to recommend that you throw 3 pots on the stove one afternoon and make 3 recipes of the sauce, then you can feel genius later, too. When you cook up your sauce (or thaw out the one you made before), the kitchen will smell divine.
Then you can begin to prepare your cheese mixture. I recommend using a food processor for all the grating. It’s a huge time saver. And note: this time I used extra sharp provolone and it was ah-maze-ing.
Next comes the assembly. Another note: when you live in a 1920s house with no counter space, your assembly station looks like this. Tiny but darling, right?
All assembled and ready for the oven…
In 45 minutes to an hour, you get this. And as a bonus, we used our Christmas dishes!
Emeril’s Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
- 8 oz. grated Provolone cheese
- 8 oz. grated Mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz. grated Romano cheese
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. chiffonade of fresh basil
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 recipe tomato sauce – recipe to follow
- ½ lb. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 package dried lasagna noodles
- 1 egg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, Provolone, Mozzarella, Romano, egg, milk, basil, and garlic. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. To assemble, spread 2 ½ cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of a deep dish lasagna pan. Sprinkle ¼ of the grated cheese over the sauce. Cover the cheese with ¼ of the dried noodles. Spread ¼ of the cheese filling evenly over the noodles. Repeat the above process with the remaining ingredients, toping the lasagna with the remaining sauce. Place in oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving. Slice and serve.
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- ⅓ lb. ground beef
- ⅓ lb. ground veal
- ⅓ lb. ground pork
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- ½ cup finely chopped celery
- ½ cup finely chopped carrot
- 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 2 (28 oz) cans of chopped tomatoes
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. In a mixing bowl, combine the meat. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. When the oil is hot, add the meat and brown for 4 to 6 minutes. Add onions, celery, and carrots.
Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the tomato paste with the stock and add to the tomatoes. Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add more liquid if needed. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, season again with salt and pepper, and stir in the cheese. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Yield: about 1 ½ to 2 quarts
Full Of Graces 