LASAGNA-THE REAL THING!
- belindaodell
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
We love eating real food, not that processed stuff you get from a box or a can. With a little prep, you can have healthy meals to come home to after a long day of working and running kids to all of their activities. This lasagna recipe paired with a chopped salad and bread hits the spot for even the pickiest of eaters!
Made with "OO" Italian flour, which is produced with Italian wheats grown with little pesticides and no additives. Evidently, they use a find grinding process that make dough easily digestible as explained by Caputo Flour. We follow a mediterranean diet and flour is part of it. Whole grain flour is more nutritious, but I think this flour is fine in moderation.
My husband, Doug, and I took a cooking class at Woodbridge General Store to learn how to make lasagna from scratch. We had the opportunity to take one of Chef Melissa Pelkey Hass’s cooking classes, it was a real treat. Of course, it takes practice to add the right amount of spices, wine, etc to meet your palate. I use some of her ingredient suggestions for the lasagna dish and add roasted vegetables to enhance the flavor and health benefits.
This recipe can be adjusted to make it quicker to cook based on using boxed pasta and store bought ricotta cheese. I like to use homemade pasta, so I typically make this dish in 2 days to allow refrigeration of the dough overnight and making the sauces the day before making the pasta and putting it all together.
DAY ONE: THIS IS THE DAY OF CHOPPING, SO PUT ON YOUR CUTTING GLOVES AND/OR LET YOUR BEAST (BLENDER OR HUSBAND) DO THE WORK!
LASAGNA-THE REAL THING!
Homemade pasta:
2 c. "OO" flour
4 eggs (add 1 egg yolk if needed-too dry)
1Tbsp olive oil
BOLOGNESE
2 cans 28 oz fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cup chicken bone broth
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped onions
1.5 pounds ground beef
1.5 pounds ground Italian sausage.
1 c. red wine
1 c. fresh chopped basil
Directions:
Step 1: Saute finely chopped vegetables (preferably chopped finely in a food processor), add ground beef & Italian sausage. Cook until no longer pink.
Step 2: Add chicken bone broth, chopped fresh basil, and can tomatoes.
Step 3: Add pureed roasted vegetables and garlic (recipe below.
Step 4 Add 1 cup red wine, cook 2-3 hours on low. Use a heavy pot to prevent scorching. You will probably need to cook everything in two pots to accommodate all of the ingredients.
ROASTED VEGETABLES FOR SAUCE. (I add roasted vegetables pureed in a blender to the bolognese to enhance the flavor and health benefits. This will require you to cook it in 2 pots instead of one, but it greatly enhances the flavor and provides more servings.)
4 pounds Roma Tomatoes
2 white or yellow onions
2-3 jalapeno
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 large heads of garlic (slice one end, wrap in aluminum foil) (Add extra bulbs of garlic if you like a compound butter spread for bread)
Step 1: Slice vegetables in large chunks, place vegetables on silicone or parchment paper covered cookie sheet . Place wrapped garlic on cookie sheet (May take 2 cookie sheets for good caramelizing.
Directions:
Step 2: Roast at 400 degrees for about an hour until carmalized.
Step 3: Puree vegetables in a blender or The Beast. Unwrap garlic and squeeze cooked garlic into the mixture, puree another 30 seconds.
Step 4: Add to Bolognese Sauce.
Cheeses/Sauces
Large carton ricotta cheese or Ricotta cheese or Ricotta cheese recipe below or Bechamel-White Sauce-French Mother Sauce (recipe below)
Whole fresh mozzarella cheese chopped in small pieces
Shredded mozzarella cheese
(I have used ricotta cheese from the carton and the Bechamel-White Sauce. I prefer to use the ricotta cheese from the carton for the convenience and have found the flavor to be very similar.)
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
3 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
1Tblsp Kosher Salt
1-2 Tblsp lemon juice
Directions:
Step 1: Add whole milk and heavy cream to pot.
Step 2: simmer until it starts to bubble; don't let it get to a full boil.
Step 3: Add 1-2 Tbslp lemon juice when it starts to bubble.
Step 4: Set off heat and let cool 45- minutes to an hour.
Step 5: Strain with 3-4 layers of cheesecloth in strainer.
Step 6: Refrigerate until ready to use in lasagna (preferably overnight).
Bechamel White Sauce-French Mother Sauce (just an overall great sauce for meat & veggies). This can be used in place of riccota cheese in lasagna.
1 stick butter
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper.
Directions:
Step 1: Melt butter
Step 2: Add flour to make roux (until pasty).
Step 3: Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper (must stir with wire wisk to keep from getting gummy). You do not want it to be drippy. Slow down whisking so it heats quicker. When it barely drips, it is ready. Stir well to make sure there are no lumps. Set aside or refrigerate overnight if you are not ready to make the lasagna.
Refrigerate all cheeses and sauces overnight!
Day 2-LET THE FUN BEGIN! IT IS TIME TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Start by determining how much lasagna your family will need for a meal. Ex: You may choose to make 3 large dishes or 5 smaller dishes.
ROLL THE PASTA
Step 1: Sprinkle "OO" flour on parchment paper.
Step 2: Divide dough into 4 sections (rectangle shape)
Step 3: Think it out
Step 4: Start wide setting on rollers on your pasta maker attached to your stand-up mixer.
Step 5: Run pasta through slowly (sprinkle flour to prevent from sticking)
Step 6: Fold where the 2 ends meet in the middle. (lightly coat with flour to prevent sticking.
Step 7: Roll it back through; it becomes sturdier.
Step 8: Roll it back through on settings: 8, 6, to 5 to make it thinner.
Step 9: Lay rolled pasta on wax paper until ready to put lasagna together.
HOW TO PUT LASAGNA TOGETHER
Step 1: Put a layer of bolognese (meat sauce).
Step 2: Put a layer of pasta
Step 3: Put a layer of Bechamel or ricotta cheese
Step 4: Add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese & freshly grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheeses.
Step 5: Repeat layers: meat sauce, pasta, bechamel or ricotta, grated cheeses, repeat.
Step 6: Add fresh basil and additional seasonings on top (pepper, Italian seasonings, etc). Always make sure there is some shredded cheese on top.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes 375 degrees. or wrap with aluminum foil and saran wrap (3 times) and freeze for future use.
Alternative: For additional health benefits and flavor, you may add a layer of shaved zucchini.
MAKE IT A MEAL!
Lasagna is best served with your favorite salad and bread. I like this recipe for Bread baquettes served with a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, chopped garlic and italian seasonings.
Compound Butter
If you prefer butter with bread, you will enjoy this divine butter / garlic solution:
Remember those extra bulbs of garlic you wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted with the veggies? Now is the time to squeeze out that luscious garlic mixture into 1/2/ stick of softened butter. You can add seasonings and herbs to make it extra special!
Doug's favorite salad with lasagna is Chopped Salad with a homemade salad dressing (this is another one of Chef Melissa's recipes.
Chopped Salad
Romaine lettuce
Iceberg lettuce
Sliced & chopped pepperoni, ham, provolone, & salami
Chickpeas
Chopped artichokes
(Adjust amounts according to preference)
Season salad before you add dressing with salt & pepper (use white pepper for better taste).
Italian Salad Dressing
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
2 tsp italian seasonings (basil, oregano, fennel)
Toss salad to coat and add more dressing as desired.
This is a great meal to prepare ahead of time because you can freeze the lasagna and bread. Just make a quick salad while cooking your lasagna. This is also great to have on hand when you want to give someone a meal to take home.
Learning to cook healthy does not take major experience, just the desire to learn. I hope you enjoy this recipe and will adjust it to your level of experience. If you are a beginner, start with box pasta and store bought ricotta cheese. I have found the gluten free boxed pasta tastes better than the regular pasta strips. You can even skip the roasting vegetables and just used the ingredients in the bolognese sauce. I almost always skip the step to make homemade ricotta cheese or white sauce because I like the taste and convenience of using store bought ricotta cheese (stick with full fat; you lose so much flavor when use low-fat).
These are some of my favorite supplies for making lasagna:
I may make a small commission from purchases made through links as an Amazon Affiliate.
We hope you enjoy this recipe and would love to know if you and your family enjoyed it. What are some adjustments you would make to satisfy your family’s palate? Drop a comment; we would love to hear from you!
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