The other night, I invited the missionaries from our ward over for dinner. We have them over at least once a month, but this time it was a little different. The sisters came over an hour before the scheduled dinner time, and they made dinner for me! Sister C is from Italy, so she made authentic Italian lasagna. To be honest, I'm not usually that much of a lasagna fan, but this stuff was awesome! I decided to blog this so I could remember the secret ingredients. I guess if it is now out on the web, there is nothing secret about it, oh well!
She cooked the meat in olive oil along with carrot shreds, onion, Parmesan cheese and sliced ham. The meat she used was ground beef as well as Italian sweet sausage, good stuff! The lasagna noodles were square shaped, in a blue box. (I can't remember the brand) They didn't require cooking, just soaking in hot water, so it was very simple to use them. She made a white sauce with flour, milk, butter and mozzarella cheese, and then combined it all together with ready made Prego sauce. The top of the pan was loaded with more cheese. Since the meat and noodles were already cooked, the lasagna only had to bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese on top browned a bit. This stuff truly melted in my mouth, I woke up the next morning craving more...so, I ate the leftovers! I hope I can re-create the taste even without the help of my Italian missionary friend.
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About Me
- Jeanie Anderson
- This blog has been inactive for five years, and I am attempting to get it going again. We now live in Woodstock, IL and the boys are growing way too fast. Life is good.
6 comments:
I'm jealous!!!
I will definitely be trying this!!
Guess what we're having for dinner Monday night?!?!!!
Hi Jeannie! I have a recipe for that kind of lasagna. The only change I've made to the lasagna is to cut the spinach in half - otherwise it overpowers everything else.
Classic Italian Lasagna
Bechamel Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
Salt and white pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bechamel sauce:
In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Love,
Rachel Wright
One time we were at mom's house (you might have been there) and mom had cooked a Stouffer's Lasagna from the freezer. Anyway, Gramps piped up and said "Susie, I think this is the best lasagna you've ever made..."
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