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A piece of Lasagna on a plate

My Mom's Lasagna

This may not have your traditional mozzarella, but it is a great family meal and my favorite lasagna.

Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American, Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 1/2 recipe fresh pasta, about 3/4 lb
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan, if you can, use Parmigiano-Reggiano

For the Meat Sauce

  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup red wine, or use water

For The Ricotta Filling

  • 2 cups ricotta cheese, full fat or skim
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan, use Parmigiano Reggiano if you can
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. If you are making fresh pasta, make the dough before you begin the sauce to give it time to rest.

For the Meat Sauce

  1. In a large skillet brown the ground beef over medium heat until cooked through, stirring to break up the large chunks.

  2. Drain off the excess fat and liquid, reserving, if desired (you can skim off the fat and use the meat juice underneath as part of the water for the sauce).

  3. Set aside the cooked ground beef. 

  4. In the same skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the onion until very soft and cooked through, the edges of some of the onion should just start to brown. 

  5. Add the garlic and briefly sauté to cook. You don’t want the garlic to get brown and bitter. 

  6. Return the ground beef to the skillet with the cooked onions and garlic. 

  7. Stir in the tomato paste, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

  8. Pour in the water, the drained off liquid from the beef, if desired, and the red wine. Stir well to combine.

  9. Bring the sauce to a bubble. Reduce to simmer and cook for 45 minutes. 

While the sauce is simmering, fill a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Make sure and salt the water well. If using a box of dried noodles cook them according to the directions on the package and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. If using fresh pasta have the pot of water ready and boiling when you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

for the Ricotta Filling

  1. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, beaten egg, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

When Ready to Assemble

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

  2. If using fresh pasta, roll out the pasta into long sheets and cut according to the size of your pan, usually a lasagna pan is 13 X 9. I cut them into 13 X 3-inch strips, but you can use whole sheets and fit them into the pan if desired. 

  3. Blanche several sheets at a time in the boiling pasta pot and layer enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

  4. If using dried, cover the bottom of the pan with enough cooked pasta sheets to completely cover the bottom. 

  5. Layer about ½ of the meat sauce into the lined pan spreading the sauce out to cover the pasta layer. 

  6. Cover the meat sauce with a layer of cooked pasta making sure it is completely covered. 

  7. Spread all of the ricotta filling over the pasta layer, spreading the filling out to cover the pasta layer. 

  8. Cover the ricotta layer with the remaining pasta. If you have made fresh pasta, you should have just enough. If you have used the dried, you may have plenty. 

  9. Cover the final pasta layer completely with the remaining meat sauce. 

  10. Generously sprinkle (or if using the good stuff in a wedge, generously grate) plenty of Parmesan cheese. 

  11. Bake for 45 minutes or until the Parmesan cheese has melted and started to turn golden brown. 

  12. This lasagna is even better if it is left to cool, refrigerated and reheated in a 350° oven for 30 to 45 minutes the next day. But it is great the day you make it too.