Lasagna

This Recipe Makes…

9 Servings (1 Pan)

Ingredients 

Ragu Sauce 

   1600 grams or 2 - 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

     300 grams or ⅔ lbs of ground beef 

     300 grams or ⅔ lbs of italian sausage   

     300 grams milk 

     200 grams wine  

     180 grams or about 1 whole onion diced

       90 grams of diced carrot 

       90 grams of diced celery 

       50 grams or about ½ a stick of unsalted butter

       40 grams cooking oil

     ~30 grams of salt (adjust to taste)

    5-10 grams of fresh basil   

      < 1 gram of dried oregano 

Mornay Sauce 

   500 grams milk

     50 grams butter

     50 grams flour 

     50 grams mozzarella cheese

     30 grams parmesan cheese 

   ~10 grams of salt (adjust to taste)

    < 1 gram of black pepper

Pasta

    450 grams or 1 package dried lasagna pasta 

      50 grams salt

Cheeses

   400 grams mozzarella cheese shredded 

   250 grams parmesan cheese shredded

Herbs

   1-2 grams or about a handful of freshly chopped italian parsley

Instructions 

Step 1 Prep - Start by grating the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Store them covered in the refrigerator for later. Chop the onion, carrot, and celery for the ragu sauce. Collect your fresh basil. Finely chop some fresh italian parsley. Store everything covered in the fridge.  

Step 2 The Ragu Sauce - Preheat a large heavy bottomed pot on medium-high heat and add about 40 grams of a neutral cooking oil. Once hot, add the 300g of beef and 300g of sausage to the pot. Place the meat down evenly in the pot and begin to sear the meat. Once a brown crust begins to form on the bottom add some salt and begin to crumble the meat into fine pieces. When all the water is cooked off and the meat is evenly browned and crumbly, add the mix of onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. Add a little more salt and cook the veggies down for another 5 minutes or so. Next, carefully add 200g of wine. Use the liquid to deglaze the bottom of the pot. After about 5 minutes, the wine should be almost completely reduced. At this point add the two cans of crushed tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes in and add the dried oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Taste and add more salt if needed. Place the fresh basil in and cover with a lid and simmer for 1-3 hours. After that, remove the cooked basil from the pot and add 300g of milk. Increase the heat to medium until you get a more aggressive bubbling for 1-2 minutes. Finally turn the heat off and remove from the hot burner. Lastly, add the 50g of butter and stir until fully melted in and smooth. Cover and set aside for later. 

Step 3 The Mornay Sauce - Begin by making a roux. Melt 50g butter in a medium size pot over medium heat. Then mix in the 50g of flour continuously stirring until a smooth paste texture is achieved. Next, the bechamel. In stages, slowly pour milk into the roux, stirring aggressively. After all the milk is added and evenly mixed in, the sauce will thicken as it heats up. Add some salt and black pepper to taste. After a couple minutes of stirring the bechamel is done and we add the cheese, making this a delicious mornay sauce for our lasagna. Slowly whisk in the 50g of mozzarella and 30g of parmesan cheese. Keep stirring until all the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Turn off heat, cover, and set aside for later.

Step 4 The Pasta - Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add your dried pasta in batches if you have to, and boil just until the sheets are pliable. Usually around 3-5 minutes. After the pasta is cooked, place in cold water to stop them from over cooking and make them easy to handle. Once all the pasta is cooked and chilled we can begin assembling the lasagna. 

Step 5 Assembly - Start by gathering your food and supplies. Have your red sauce ready with a serving spoon, your white sauce ready with a spoon, your shredded cheeses, and the pasta ready. Preheat your oven 375 degrees fahrenheit, and have a large lasagna pan ready to build. Start with a thin layer of red sauce in the bottom of the pan then place the 1st pasta layer down. Then lay down repeating layers of red sauce, cheese, white sauce, pasta. On the top layer do not add the white sauce and replace with extra mozzarella. Cover with aluminum foil. 

Step 6 Baking - Bake at 375F covered for 30 minutes. After that, remove the foil cover and increase the heat to 450F. Place lasagna back in for an additional 10-20 minutes or until the top cheese is melted and browned to your liking. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let cool untouched for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle on some fresh chopped parsley. Slice up into smaller pieces. Serve and enjoy!