Traditional Canadian Lasagna Recipes

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and olive oil; cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
• Cook the ground beef and sausage in a large pot over medium heat; drain. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic salt, oregano, thyme, basil, and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper; simmer 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
• Ladle enough of the meat sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Form a layer atop the sauce with 3 of the lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/4 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese mixture and then ladle about 1/3 of the meat sauce over the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice more, topping with the remaining 1/4 pound of mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven 90 minutes. Allow to sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

CANADIAN MOOSE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9x13 inch pan with olive oil.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil until tender and semi-transparent. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until soft. Remove from heat.
• In a sauce pan, combine spinach and 1/4 cup water. Cover, and cook over medium heat until wilted. Drain. In a large bowl, mix together spinach, onion mixture, and ricotta cheese.
• In a frying pan, brown moose meat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. When the pink color is almost gone, stir in the cocoa and brown sugar. This removes the gamey-ness. Once the meat is well browned, drain to remove excess grease. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water, and season with oregano, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.
• Ladle enough of the meat sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Arrange a single layer of oven ready noodles over the sauce. Spread one half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles, and top with some of the tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until lasagna is hot and bubbly.

THE MOST AMAZING LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add in ground sausage and ground beef. Use a spoon to break up the meat into small pieces. Add in onion and garlic and cook until meat is well browned, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar, fresh basil, fennel, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and wine*. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, place lasagna noodles into the bottom of a pan. Pour hot tap water directly over the noodles, making sure the pasta is completely immersed in the water. Let them soak for 30 minutes, then drain and discard water.
• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg. Refrigerate until ready to assemble lasagna.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a deep 9x13 pan.
• To assemble, spread about 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Place 4 noodles on top. Spread with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/4 of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Repeat layering two more times to create three complete layers. To finish, place a final layer of pasta, topped with another 1 cup of meat sauce to cover the pasta. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes to allow cheese to brown. Serve hot.

TRADITIONAL CANADIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown the beef with the garlic; stir to break into small pieces of meat
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Add 4 cups cooked beef to 2 cups homemade tomato sauce; combine well
• Check again for seasoning
• Wring frozen spinach inside a thick tea towel until all liquid is dispelled
• Combine all ingredients
• Spread 1/2 cup Homemade Tomato Sauce onto the bottom of the pan; it will be sparse
• Place 4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce (these will fit perfectly in the 11 x 13 inch casserole pan)
• Spread 1 cup of meat sauce very sparsely over the noodles; cover with 4 lasagna noodles
• Spread 1 1/4 cups of meat sauce very sparsely over the second layer of noodles; cover this layer of meat sauce with mozzarella cheese slices
• Cover the cheese slices with 4 lasagna noodles (at this point, you will need a couple of half pieces of noodles and ends if your casserole dish fans outwards as the surface area grows with each layer)
• Spread the entire cottage cheese and spinach mixture over the third layer of lasagna noodles; top this with another layer of lasagna noodles
• Cover the last layer of lasagna noodles with 1 1/2 cup of meat sauce, sparsely distributed over the noodles (if you have enough room, make one more layer of noodles and a final layer of meat sauce)
• The meat sauce will be the top of the lasagna; cover that with generous slices of mozzarella cheese
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; date and label; freeze for future use
• Bake frozen in 350 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until bubbly and cheese on top just starts to brown (cover with tented foil while still baking, to avoid over browning, if necessary)
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until bubbly and cheese on top just starts to brown (cover with tented foil while still baking, to avoid over browning, if necessary)
• If you have a lot left over, portion into individual pieces, wrap well, label, date and freeze and these make great individual lunches

TRADITIONAL LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic, and red pepper for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let garlic brown. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and bay leaf to skillet. Let simmer until flavors blend, stirring occasionally every 1/2 hour. Stir in Parmesan, and remove bay leaf. Sauce is ready for lasagna to be made.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot, boil water, and cook pasta close to al dente. In a large bowl combine the ricotta, salt, pepper, and Parmesan, and mix until well blended. Mix in egg yolks and set aside.
• In a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of marinara sauce and cover with noodles. Spread a layer of ricotta cheese mixture over noodles. Top with mozzarella, another layer of sauce, and repeat. The third layer should be topped with sauce and mozzarella. Cover and bake for 40 minutes, remove cover and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand for 20 minutes.
• To serve, cut into squares, and serve with drizzled marinara sauce.

TRADITIONAL LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble beef and sausage until no longer pink; drain. Add next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if desired., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add parsley; stir in cottage cheese, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. , Preheat oven to 375°. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles, provolone cheese, 2 cups cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella (dish will be full)., Cover; bake 50 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

HOMEMADE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown meat: In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When cooked through, remove the grease.
• (Optional) Add meat to a food processor and pulse just 3-4 times until it's broken up into very small pieces. Remove to a bowl.
• Sauté Veggies: In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add the onion, spinach and bell pepper. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are softened -about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer them to the same food processor. Pulse several times until they're nearly pureed. Return mixture to the skillet.
• Add Tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Cover and allow the sauce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved crumbled ground beef and sausage, and fresh basil.
• Cook Pasta: While the red sauce simmers boil the lasagna noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Drain into a large colander and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. (You can skip this step if you are using no-boil noodles).
• Add the butter to a medium size saucepan or large skillet. Over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine 2 minutes. Gradually add in the milk, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking often so it doesn't burn on the bottom, until it thickens-- about 5-7 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Keep in mind that there will be 3 layers of lasagna, so mentally split the sauces into thirds as you layer them to make sure you have enough at the end.
• Layer: Start by layering the bottom of your greased pan with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread the red sauce over the noodles, followed by the white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges. Top with another layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
• Repeat: Add the final layer of noodles, then red sauce, white sauce and cheeses.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the lasagna to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.
• Serve with garlic bread or homemade breadsticks and a green salad.

TRADITIONAL BANNOCK AND BERRIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (It's also possible to bake or cook the bannock over an open flame).
• Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl.
• Add water and mix until dough becomes thick and sticky. Do not over mix or the dough will become tough.
• Roll the dough into a large ball and slice into 12 equal pieces.
• Flatten each ball of dough with your hands.
• Drop dough into the oil and fry until it is golden brown on both sides and soft, but cooked inside.
• For the raspberry compote cook the berries in a saucepan over medium heat until soft.
• Add sugar, lemon juice, rind, and salt.
• Continue cooking until the sugar is dissolved.
• Serve bannock drizzled with compote.