Cheese Lasagna From Scratch Recipes

HOMEMADE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside.
• Place pork and beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Stir in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, parsley, garlic, oregano, onion, sugar, basil and salt. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish, place 2 layers of noodles on the bottom of dish; layer 1/2 of the cheese mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 of the sauce; repeat layers.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes; let stand for 10 minutes before cutting; serve.

CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and lay lasagna flat on foil to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper; mix well.
• In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic for 2 minutes; stir in spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning. Heat sauce until warmed through, stirring occasionally, 2 to 5 minutes.
• Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spread half the ricotta mixture over noodles; top with another noodle layer. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce over noodles, and spread the remaining ricotta over the sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce and sprinkle mozzarella over all. Cover with greased foil.
• Bake 45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and top is golden.

CLASSIC CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, egg, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Coarsely grate 1/2 of the mozzarella, and stir into ricotta mixture. Using your fingers, shred remaining mozzarella into 2-inch strips, and reserve.
• Spread 1/2 cup marinara in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of noodles over marinara. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan. Place a layer of noodles over the cheese layer. Spread 1 cup marinara over noodles. Repeat layering (noodles, marinara, noodles, ricotta mixture, Parmesan) 2 more times. Spread remaining marinara over cheese layer, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
• Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

CHEESE LASAGNA FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet, and add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until softened, then add the salt, pepper and sage. Stir in wine, allow most liquid to boil off. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and tomato paste, simmer 15 minutes until thickened.
• Put the ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, and grated cheese blend in a bowl. Grate in the nutmeg, and mix well with a fork.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Boil and drain noodles on kitchen towels.
• Spread half the sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish, and cover with a single layer of noodles. Layer half the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Put another layer of noodles on top of the cheese filling, layer the last of the cheese, top with the last of the noodles, and then cover with remaining sauce.
• Bake uncovered 20 minutes, spread additional mozzarella, and bake another 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Rest 15 minutes before cutting.
• Note: Grated cheese blend is imported parmesan/romano/asiago/fontina/provalone -- I keep 1 and 2 cup bags of grated cheese in the freezer for cooking -- salty, so adapt recipe for salt.

SIX-CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. In a large bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, cottage, Parmesan and Romano cheeses., Spread 1-1/2 cups sauce mixture in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1-1/2 cups sauce to edges of noodles. Sprinkle with 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Top with ricotta mixture, provolone cheese and remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese., Cover and bake 50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Freeze option:Cool unbaked casseroles; cover and freeze up to 3 months. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350deg;. Bake as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

CLASSIC LASAGNE

Steps:

• To make the meat sauce, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and cook 750g lean beef mince in two batches for about 10 mins until browned all over.
• Finely chop 4 slices of prosciutto from a 90g pack, then stir through the meat mixture.
• Pour over 800g passata or half our basic tomato sauce recipe and 200ml hot beef stock. Add a little grated nutmeg, then season.
• Bring up to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins until the sauce looks rich.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan/160C/gas 4 and lightly oil an ovenproof dish (about 30 x 20cm).
• Spoon one third of the meat sauce into the dish, then cover with some fresh lasagne sheets from a 300g pack. Drizzle over roughly 130g ready-made or homemade white sauce.
• Repeat until you have 3 layers of pasta. Cover with the remaining 390g white sauce, making sure you can't see any pasta poking through.
• Scatter 125g torn mozzarella over the top.
• Arrange the rest of the prosciutto on top. Bake for 45 mins until the top is bubbling and lightly browned.

LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the sauce, heat 1/2 cup oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or kettle over low heat. Add the onions, minced garlic and pancetta, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until the onions are wilted. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Raise heat slightly, add the wine and cook until it is mostly reduced, about 20 minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the pan, and add their juice. Add the tomato paste and 2 cups lukewarm water. Simmer for 1 hour.
• Combine the sirloin, cheese and eggs in a large bowl. Chop the parsley with the whole garlic until fine, then stir into the beef mixture. Season lavishly with salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until all the ingredients are well blended. Shape into meatballs and set aside.
• Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dust the meatballs lightly with flour, shaking off excess, and lay into the hot oil. Brown the meatballs on all sides (do not cook through) and transfer to the sauce.
• In a clean skillet, brown the sausages over medium-high heat. Transfer to the sauce. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, pecorino Romano, parsley and all but 1 cup of the mozzarella. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
• Remove the meatballs and sausage from the sauce, and set aside to cool slightly, then chop coarsely. Spoon a thick layer of sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch lasagna pan. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spoon more sauce on top, then add a third of the meat and a third of the cheese mixture. Repeat for 2 more layers, using all the meat and cheese. Top with a layer of noodles, and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle reserved mozzarella evenly over the top. Bake 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.