Lasagna
Introduction
This recipe is actually pretty easy, but it is still time consuming because of the cheeses and the bake time. You can make the cheeses the day before and refrigerated in a container, if youโd like.
I do prefer to use canned sauce for this simply because of the rest of the cook times, but you can use the Bolognese or Vodka sauces as well if youโd like (double them; if using Bolognese, you can omit the ground beef steps, as there will already be meat in the sauce).
Lasagna noodles are incredibly annoying; they will want to stick together every chance they get, and then trying to pull them apart results in tearing them. Iโve been able to minimize that a bit, but just do your best and use whatever scraps you have to create complete layers; they donโt have to be perfect.
Total Time: 1ยฝ to 2 hours (not counting the cheeses)
Ingredients
1ยฝย ย ย lbs.ย ground beef
2ย ย ย 24 oz. jars pasta sauce
1ย ย ย lb. lasagna noodles/sheets
2ย ย ย ย Ricottaย recipe
1ย ย ย ย ย Mozzarellaย recipe
Instructions
โข Make the cheeses and set each aside, covered, in their own bowl.
โข In a large pot, start to boil plenty of water for the lasagna noodles and salt the water generously. The first step to mitigating the noodles sticking together: use a lot of water and a lot of salt (like 2 Tbsp.).
โข Preheat the oven to 375ยฐF.
โข Brown the beef in a large pan / skillet. Once browned, add all but ยฝ of one jar of sauce (so use 1ยฝ jars). Simmer to let the flavors meld a bit, stirring occasionally.
โข Once the water is boiling, add the lasagna noodles ONE AT A TIME. Do not just throw them all in at once. You will need to stir and separate them constantly for the first couple of minutes they are cooking using tongs or a long fork. The second step to mitigating sticking: taking the time to stop them from sticking from the very beginning.
โข Continue to stir / separate the noodles frequently until they are al dente (meaning still slightly undercooked, just a little stiff). When ready, drain the noodles in a colander and rinse them with cold water, using your hand to move them around to rinse well. Immediately start to lay them out on a non-stick surface, like wax paper or silicon baking mats. This is the last step to mitigate sticking: cold water will stop the cooking process and rinse any excess starch off the noodles, and immediately keeping them separated from each other will not give them the opportunity to stick.
โข Take the remaining ยฝ jar of sauce and spread it on the bottom of a large baking dish (I use a 10ร15 inch, but you can also use a 9ร13). This will help the noodles to not stick to the dish.
โขย Use the noodles to create a layer on top of the sauce, doing your best to go all the way to the edges of the dish. (if you’re using a smaller baking dish, you can probably do 2 layers of noodles).
โข Take half of the Ricotta cheese and spread this on top of the noodles. The noodles may try to move around as you do this, but just gently push them back into place.
โข Take half of the beef sauce and layer this on top of the Ricotta.
โข Repeat the above steps with another layer of noodles, the remaining Ricotta, and remaining beef sauce.
โข Place one last layer of noodles on top. Then, cover the top noodle layer with the Mozzarella.
โข Bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly.
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