Recipe: Lasagna

I'm not in the mood for a health blog today, so I'm going to post another recipe for you.

Years ago I had a fantastic recipe for lasagna. When I say fantastic, it was perfect beyond all belief. I found it while I was at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) and I made it to impress a basketball player. If I remember correctly. I did impress him, but he went off months later and married a cheerleader anyway. Nonetheless, the lasagna ended up being the better part of the deal. In the midst of moving from Rexburg to Provo (BYU-Provo) I somehow lost that recipe. I hunted high and low and couldn't find it no matter what I did!

So I began searching again. Most lasagnas I tried were sweet and I really hate sweet lasagna. Years and scads of lasagna later I decided to head over to Food Network and check out Emeril Lagasse's lasagna. I followed the recipe carefully and just had to tweak it to make it perfect for me. I know, I shouldn't be messing with a recipe by Emeril, but I had no choice. The taste wasn't quite what I wanted until I added my secret ingredient and changed one or two things. So here is Emeril's recipe with a Candace twist. Sorry, Emeril, you rock, I swear!

This recipe heads toward the middle and stops short of difficult. So be patient, read the entire recipe before you begin and realize you're going to need several hours (at least 2 for the meat sauce, although I like it to simmer most of the day) and plan accordingly.

Lasagna

Meat Sauce

2 T. Light Olive Oil
1 lb. ground beef (93/7)
2 lb. sausage
Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 c. dried onion flakes
2 T. chopped garlic
2 28 oz. cans of peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
4 c. water
1 t. thyme
2 bay leaves
2 t. dried oregano
2 t. dried basil
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 oz. Parmigiano-Regianno
2 T. of McCormick's Spaghetti Seasoning

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 cook for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Whisk the tomato paste with the water and add to pan. Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, basil and red pepper. Stir in the McCormick's Spaghetti Seasoning. Mix well and bring to a boil, reduce the meat to medium and simmer for approximately 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add more water if necessary. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, taste and season to taste with salt and pepper and the cheese. Remove from heat and let stand before applying to lasagna.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Lasagna

2 c. fresh ricotta
8 oz. grated provolone
8 oz. grated mozarella
8 oz. grated romano
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1 T. dried basil
1 T. chopped garlic (fresh)
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1 small can of sliced olives (drain and set aside)

1 Recipe of Meat Sauce
1/2 lb. grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 pkg. dried lasagna noodles

In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, provolone, mozarella, romano, egg milk, basil and garlic. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

Spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of a deep dish lasagna pan.

Sprinkle 1/4 of the grated cheese over the sauce.

Cover the cheese with a layer of the dried noodles.

Sprinkle another 1/4 of the grated cheese over the noodles.

Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce over cheese and dried noodles.

Repeat the process ending with noodles, sprinkling olives over the last layer of noodles and then add the remaining meat sauce over the top, sprinkle with mozarella and slide into oven.

Bake until bubbly and golden, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with green salad, corn and garlic toast.

Happy Eating.

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