Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Brie Goldman Preheat oven and make meat sauce: Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes.  Brie Goldman Add seasonings and cook: Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Brie Goldman Add tomato paste: Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Brie Goldman Puree tomatoes Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor Brie Goldman Add tomatoes to sauce and cook: Add tomatoes to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Brie Goldman Make the cheese mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brie Goldman Assemble lasagna, starting with meat sauce: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron. Brie Goldman Space lasagna noodles over sauce: Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks). Brie Goldman Spread a layer of cheese mixture: Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles. Brie Goldman Add another layer of noodles: Top with 3 more noodles. Brie Goldman Repeat layers: Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more. Brie Goldman Spread meat sauce over top layer: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles. Brie Goldman Sprinkle with cheeses, cover with parchment-lined foil: Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Brie Goldman Brie Goldman Bake: Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.) Brie Goldman Cool and serve: Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve. Brie Goldman Cook’s Notes Brie Goldman Storing Leftovers You may have some meat sauce leftover after you assemble the lasagna. Save it! Try tossing it with pasta for a quick supper, sandwiching it between potato buns for sloppy Joes, or serving it with fried eggs for breakfast. Cover any leftover lasagna before refrigerating. If there are only a couple of portions left, wrap them in parchment-lined foil and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for ease of reheating, and to take up less space in your refrigerator. Freezing Leftovers also hold up well in the freezer: Package individual slices in parchment-lined foil and store in a freezer bag for up to a month. To reheat, bake, still wrapped in the parchment-lined foil, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. Frequently Asked Questions Does authentic lasagna have ricotta or béchamel? It depends who you ask. Traditional lasagna from the north of Italy, such as from Bologna, is made with béchamel sauce. Some versions made in the South use a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella rather than béchamel, similar to that used in this Lasagna with Meat Sauce recipe. Is it better to cover lasagna while baking? Our recipe calls for covering the lasagna for most of its baking. The parchment-lined foil is removed for the last third of the cook time so that the top of the lasagna has time to brown and develop those delicious crispy edges. Is it better to cook lasagna in glass or metal pan? We generally use a ceramic pan for baked pasta dishes like lasagna, or an enameled cast-iron pan. We do not use other types of metal pans for baking lasagna and prefer ceramic or enameled cast-iron over glass for even cooking of lasagna. More Lasagna Recipes to Try Lasagna Bolognese Three-Cheese Skillet Lasagna Patsy’s Meatball Lasagna 8-Layer Lasagna Tomato-Sausage Lasagna Mushroom-Eggplant Lasagna Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna with Meat Sauce