INGREDIENTS
Olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced, about 3/4 cup
1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), seeds and
veins removed, diced, about 3/4 cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 6 oz can (3 oz) tomato paste
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably flat leaf), packed
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
Pinch of garlic powder and/or garlic salt
1 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp to 1/4 cup sugar (to taste, optional)
Salt
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles -
unbroken)
15 ounces Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb (24 ounces) Mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced
1/4 lb (4 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese
Cooking Utensils
Large skillet (for browning beef, onions, green pepper)
8 to 12 Qt pot (for noodles)
3 to 4 Qt pot (simmer sauce)
13" x 9" x 2" lasagna pan (preferably a pyrex
or stainless lasagna pan. Do Not Use Aluminum Pans - the aluminum will react
with the acidic tomato sauce, leaching the aluminum and ruining the taste of
your lasagna sauce.)
Large colander (drain/blot beef, drain noodles)
Large baking pan (to cool noodles)
Large slotted cooking spoon
Large cooking spoon
Paring knife
Directions
1 Put a large pot of salted water (1 Tbsp salt for every 2
quarts of water) on the stovetop on high heat. It can take a while for a large
pot of water to come to a boil (this will be your pasta water), so prepare the
sauce in the next steps while the water is heating.
2 Heat about a teaspoon or so of olive oil in a large
skillet on medium high heat. Add the lean ground beef and cook it in the
skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Put a few layers of paper
towels in large bowl. With slotted spoon, remove the browned beef from the
skillet, draining off the excess beef fat, and put the browned beef on top of
the paper towels to help blot away the excess fat. After you have removed all
the browned beef from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess fat. (If
your ground beef is sufficiently lean, there won't be any excess fat to drain.)
3 Add the diced bell pepper and onions to skillet (in the
photo we are using yellow bell pepper and red onions). Brown for a few minutes
on medium high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add
the browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to
cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.
4 Transfer browned beef, bell peppers and onions to a medium
sized (3 to 4 quart) pot. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and crushed
tomatoes. Add oregano, parsley, Italian seasoning, adjust amounts to taste. Add
a pinch of garlic powder and/or a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a splash
of red or white wine vinegar. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time, until desired
level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Note that it is hard to
follow a pure recipe when it comes to pasta sauce. One Italian spice mix is not
like the other, nor is one can of tomato sauce like another. So you really do
need to taste the sauce as you are adding the spices, sugar and vinegar, and
adjust for your preference. Add salt to
taste, and note that you will later be adding Parmesan, which is salty.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat to low to
maintain a low simmer. Cook for 15-45
minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.
5 By now the salted water you started heating in step one
should be boiling. Add the dry lasagna noodles and cook then per package
directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to
prevent from sticking. Make sure that water remains at a full rolling boil
during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. When ready, drain
in a colander and rinse with cool water, gently separating any noodles that may
be sticking together. Spread a little olive oil on a large rimmed baking sheet,
and lay out the cooked noodles on this sheet, turning them over so that they get
coated with a little of the olive oil. This will prevent them from sticking
together.
6 In a 13x9x2-inch casserole or lasagna dish, ladle one cup
of sauce and spread it along the bottom of the pan. Apply one layer noodles 3
length wise (edge may overlap, depending on your pan). Ladle a third of the
remaining sauce over the noodles. Apply a layer of a third of the mozzarella on
top of lasagna sauce. Add half of the ricotta cheese, by placing cheese dollops
every 2 inches. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of
ricotta cheese.
Apply second layer of noodles, top it with half of the
remaining sauce. Add half of the
remaining Mozzarella and another thin sprinkling of Parmesan. Finish with another layer of noodles. Spread
the remaining sauce over the top layer of noodles and sprinkle with the
remaining Mozzarella cheese.
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