Here it is:
Gerry’s Lasagna
and Tomato Sauce recipe
For 9-1/2” – 13-1/2” pan (or similar)
2 boxes of lasagna noodles (you may have some unused noodles)
1
pound ground beef1 pound sausage (sweet, hot, or a mixture)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (more depending on taste)
3-4 T dried oregano
3 T dried basil
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. crushed rosemary
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or ¼ cup dried flakes)
15 oz. can tomato sauce
12 oz. tomato paste
15 oz. can diced tomatoes (I like the garlic and herbed blend – drained)
24 oz. can Hunt’s pasta sauce (garlic and herbs)
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 lbs. whole milk ricotta
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
8-12 slices provolone cheese
Optional: if you can find scamorza cheese, slice ½ pound in addition to the other cheeses)
Start
by making the meat sauce filling.
Place the tomato sauce and tomato paste into a saucepan. Using the
tomato paste can as a gauge, add 1.25 cans of water. Add fresh garlic, fennel seeds, oregano
and basil, and crushed rosemary.
Place the saucepan on medium heat and stir occasionally until it
starts bubbling.
In
another pan, brown the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces. Drain, and add to the sauce.
Take
the casings off the sausage, discard. Brown the sausage, breaking it into
small pieces, and add it to the sauce. Take
the sauce off the heat.
Taking the pan you intend to use for the
lasagna, lay the noodles in the pan to gauge how many noodles you need for one
layer. Multiply by 3 (or 4 if you want a
really deep dish); add in a few extra
noodles in case some get stuck together when cooking.
Using salted water, cook the noodles as
directed, stirring occasionally. Stop cooking about 30 sec to 1 minute before
the end. Keeping the noodles in the pan, drain the hot water and immediately
fill with the pan with cold water – let it sit.
Drain the ricotta cheese if it’s watery. In a
bowl, mix it with either the fresh or flaked parsley, add in some dried oregano,
mix and set aside. Remove the lasagna noodles from the water and drain in a
colander.
Open the can of pasta sauce and pour some of the
sauce into the bottom of the lasagna pan. Rotate the pan so that the entire
bottom surface and some of the lower edge of the pan are coated with sauce.
Build the layers using noodles covered with
ricotta and meat sauce and various amounts of the rest of the cheeses
(mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar and provolone*) in the following way:
1.
Spoon some of the ricotta cheese on the noodles.
2.
Spoon some of the filling sauce across, then sprinkle a
layer of shredded mozzarella, and a little of the Parmesan.
3.
Add another layer of noodles, and using your hand,
press down to smooth out the layer (this helps to smooth the ricotta layer
underneath it).
4.
Add more ricotta (if you are only doing 3 layers of
noodles, use all of the ricotta here), then add more sauce.
5.
Note: Sprinkle
the drained diced tomatoes, cheddar, mozzarella, thinly sliced provolone or scamorza
cheese, Parmesan on alternating layers (first and third if you have a 4-layer
lasagna; the middle layer if you have a 3-layer lasagna.)
6.
Add another layer of noodles, and using your hand,
press down to “smooth out the layer. Add
a thin layer of sauce.
For the top layer, use the remaining shredded
cheeses and sprinkle on the top of noodles.
Finish with sliced provolone and Parmesan on top. By now I typically
have run out of sauce, this is when I use more of the Hunt’s pasta sauce and
sprinkle it across the top.
Cover with foil.
Cook for ~ 45 minutes at 375 F or until you can
see or hear it bubbling.
Let rest for at least 10 minutes. If you pre-make this dish, you can set it
aside for a hour or more, then toss it in the oven without the foil and heat it
up for 10 minutes or so.
Using 1 or 2 metal spatulas cut and serve in
portions.
**Note: the University of Cincinnati has a style guide for capitalization of types of cheese!
