LASAGNA RECIPE

LASAGNA RECIPE
   

From Jessie Lee Troyer 

2 1/4 cups Meat Sauce Bolognese:

2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped carrot

3/4 pound ground beef (preferably chuck or the meat from the neck)

 salt

 1 cup water or chicken stock (low-sodium)

 1/2 cup milk

 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

 2 cups canned Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped, with their juice.

1.  First make a ragu. An earthenware pot should be your first choice for making ragu.  If you don't have one available, use a heavy, enameled cast-iron casserole, the deepest one you have to keep the ragu from reducing too quickly. 

Put in the chopped onion, with all the oil and butter, and saute briefly over medium heat until just translucent.  Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for 2 minutes.

2. Add the ground beef, crumbling it in the pot with a fork.  Add 1 teaspoon salt, stir and cook only until the meat has lost its raw red color.  Add the chicken stock.

3. Turn the heat to medium, and add the milk and the nutmeg. Cook until the milk has evaporated.  Stir frequently.

4. When the milk has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly.  When the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the laziest simmer, just an occasional bubble.  

Cook, uncovered for a minimum of  3  1/2  to  4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste  for salt. 

(This Ragu can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or it can be frozen for later use.  Reheat until it simmers for about 15 minutes before using.)  Serves 6.

Make Bechamel Sauce -

3 cups milk 

6 tablespoons butter

4  1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt  

It should be fairly thin, having the consistency of sour cream.

To assemble the lasagna, you will need:

Pre-cooked lasagna

1 T. salt

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. butter

Prepare the meat sauce (Ragu) and the béchamel sauce and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 or follow directions on the package of pasta.

Choose a 14-inch bake-and-serve lasagna pan.  (You can use packaged aluminum pans, too.)

 

Smear the bottom with a little bit of meat sauce, skimming it from the top of the pan, where there is more fat. 

Place a single layer of lasagna in the pan, overlapping the strips, if necessary, no more than 1/4 inch. Avoid propping up the edges of the pasta along the sides of the pan.  It will become dry and tough there. You can use broken pieces of lasagna to plug any gaps in the layers.

Spread enough sauce on the pasta to dot it with meat, then spread the bechamel over the meat sauce.  Before sprinkling cheese, taste the bechamel and meat sauce coating.  If it is on the salty side, sprinkle the grated cheese sparsely.  If it is rather bland, sprinkle the cheese freely. 

Add another layer of lasagna and coat it as before.  Note:  Since lasagna shouldn't be too thick,  make no more than 6 thin layers of lasagna and leave 1/2 inch at the top of the pan.  

Coat the top layer with bechamel, sprinkle with cheese, and dot lightly with butter.

When ready to bake, follow the directions on the box of lasagna for baking.

 

Allow the lasagna to settle 5 to 8 minutes after removing from oven before serving.