When it comes to Lasagna, this one is my favorite! ( my family and friends that I've made it for love it too!) I don't use Ricotta cheese in my Lasagna, I have replaced it with Bechamel Sauce. Not knocking Ricotta, I love it, but the Bechamel gives it a creamy consistency and a richness that I think levels it up as Lasagna recipes go. First time I ever saw that done was on a cooking show several years ago and it sounded amazing, so I tried it and LOVED IT! I'm betting you'll love it too!
FYI:
I also don't use the Lasagna that you need to boil first. Let's face it, pre-boiling your noodles sucks! It can be frustrating when they tear and it just makes sense to eliminate that step with the convenience we have in oven ready noodles! Depending on the day and time that I have, I have made my Lasagna noodles from scratch since I finally got my pasta machine, or I buy the oven ready Lasagna noodles. My favorite brand for that is the Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna . It's nice and thin, so it cooks all the way through when baking and is easy to use especially when it comes to fitting the noodles into your casserole dish and needing to break them in half if needed. This time, I used the oven ready noodles.
I also make my Bolognese for this recipe with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef , instead of using Ground Pork and Ground Veal. I like the flavor that the Italian Sausage gives the Lasagna .
INGREDIENTS:
Bolognese Sauce
1 TBS EVOO
1/2 lb Ground Beef ( you do need some fat in your sauce, but, try to go more lean so it's not so greasy)
3/4 lbs Ground Mild Italian Sausage ( or Sweet or Hot if you prefer)
1 medium Onion, fine diced
2 medium Carrots, fine diced or shredded
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 cup Red Wine
1- 28 oz can of peeled whole Tomatoes , Crushed by hand
1- 28 oz can of crushed Tomatoes
2 TBS chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
1 TBS chopped fresh Basil
Parm rind
4 cups of shredded Mozzarella Cheese or 2-16oz packages of the pre sliced Fresh Mozzarella such as Bel Gioioso or Galbani. ( I used the pre sliced this time)
2 cups fresh shredded Parmesan and some extra for garnish
Bechamel Sauce
4 TBS Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Flour
2 1/4 cups of Whole Milk
Pinch of Nutmeg
5. Pinch of Kosher Salt ( more if needed)
1/4 tsp of Cracked Black Pepper
2 boxes of Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles ( preferably Barilla Brand)
In a medium bowl pre-mix the Ground Beef and Italian Sausage together until well incorporated .
Heat 1 TBS of EVOO in a large pot or Dutch Oven on medium heat and add in the mixed Ground Meats and brown until cooked through. Remove and set aside in a medium bowl. If there is more than a couple of table spoons of grease left in the pot, spoon some of that out.
Add the 2nd TBS of EVOO to the pot if needed and add in the Onion, Carrots and Garlic and saute until Onion is translucent and Carrots have softened. Approx 5-6 minutes.
Add the Ground Meats back into the pot, add the salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and stir.
Pour in the red wine and let simmer until the alcohol is cooked out. About 6-8 minutes.
Add in all the tomatoes and stir all ingredients well. Stir in the Parsley and Basil and the Parm rind.
Reduce heat to simmer on low and let cook for 3 hours , stirring often.
Once your Bolognese sauce is ready ,remove the Parm rind . Get ready to make the Bechamel Sauce and Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium to large sized pan, melt butter on medium low heat and then whisk in the flour until well combined. Slowly add in milk, about 1 cup at a time as the sauce thickens and whisk to blend in well , making sure there aren't any lumps. Add in the Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg and continue to whisk almost continually so the sauce doesn't scald. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until the flour taste is cooked out and Sauce is nice and creamy. Cover and start to assemble your Lasagna.
Butter or Oil Spray the bottom and sides of a deep casserole dish ( preferably 10 x 15, but 9 x 13 will work since this is a lot of Lasagna) . Pour in 2 cups of the Bolognese sauce to the casserole dish and make sure to cover the bottom of the dish. Then, start assembling with your noodles covering as much of the bottom as you can ( Don't over lap the noodles). Next, add another 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Bolognese,( make sure you cover the edges of the noodles as well) then about 1/2 cup of Bechamel, approximately 1 cup of the mozzarella,( if you use the sliced fresh Mozz, then add about 12 ripped pieces like I did in the photo above) 1/2 of Parm and then move on to the next layer repeating the same steps until you've reached the 4th layer , do all the same steps except for the Parm. Cover the Lasagna with foil and let bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. With this being 4 layers, it will need to cook longer.
Check Lasagna at about 40 minutes and if it's bubbling and the cheese on top is melted , then take the foil off and cook for about 5 minutes more . If it needs longer, let it stay covered and cook another 5 minutes or so. Remove from the oven once the cheese is melty and starting to turn a little golden on it's edges.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Top with extra Parm and Mangia! Mangia!
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