An Inspired Cook

I’ve been craving an authentic lasagna that has bold flavors and a creamy filling with lots and lots of melting cheese. While searching for ideas I came across the perfect recipe from one of my favorite blogs, “La Bella Vita Cucina“. Roz calls this “The Most Delicious, Awesome Lasagna” which I happen to agree! The sauce is bold and flavorful, but I must say the ricotta cheese filling is what puts this lasagna over the top. This velvety smooth layer combined with melted mozzarella practically melts in your mouth, it’s that good. I made a few adjustments and split the recipe between two pans because I don’t have a deep dish lasagna pan to hold it all. It’s all good either way. With the holidays coming up this would be the ultimate alternative to the traditional turkey, ham or roast beef. It’s perfect for special occasions and will feed a large crowd. Since we are empty nesters, it’s impossible to go through a whole pan of lasagna. We saved out some for a few meals, then packaged the rest into individual servings wrapped first in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and placed in a large ziplock freezer bag to go into the freezer. They freeze well and it’s so easy to take out as many individual servings as you need. Thaw and unwrap completely to warm in the oven or microwave. Serve with a salad and warm bread with dipping oil and spices for the ultimate meal.

Starting with the meat sauce, you’ll need approximately 1 pound each of lean ground beef and Italian sausage. Also a large chopped onion, 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, sugar, cayenne pepper, a bay leaf and salt to taste. You’ll want good canned Italian whole peeled tomatoes, tomato paste and some water to reach the consistency needed. You’ll add some fresh basil and parsley which will come later.

In a 5 quart dutch oven or larger, brown the ground beef and Italian sausage over medium high heat. Use a wooden spatula to chop the meat as it browns.

It will take a few minutes to brown all the beef and sausage together. Continue stirring the pot and chopping the meat as it continues to cook.

When all the meat has browned, scoop the meat over to one side so you can see any excess grease. You’ll want to drain this excess grease.

Line a colander with paper towels and spoon the meat into the bowl. The paper towels will absorb any excess grease. Set aside.

Add the chopped onion to the Dutch oven over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.

Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic cloves and add to the onions.

Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat for a few minutes as they sweat it out and become translucent.

Pour the cans of whole Italian tomatoes with sauce into a large bowl. It will be approximately 7 – 8 cups.

Use a hand blender to break apart and crush the tomatoes. If you don’t have a hand blender, try a potato masher, it works well in a pinch.

Add the cooked meat back to the Dutch oven and stir the pot so that the onion and garlic are evenly distributed.

Add the tomatoes to the mix and stir the pot.

Add the tomato paste, chopped basil and half of the parsley. Stir the pot.

Pour approximately 1 cup of water then stir the pot. Add salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook uncovered for an hour to 1 1/2 hours. If the sauce is too thick to your liking, add up to an additional cup of water to get the right consistency of your sauce.

While the meat sauce is simmering, it’s time to make the ricotta cheese filling. You’ll want whole ricotta, whole sour cream, 2 eggs and a sprinkle of salt.

Add the measured ingredients to a mixing bowl.

Blend it all together until it’s creamy. If not using immediately, return to the fridge with plastic wrap over top.

I hand grated a block of mozzarella cheese together with a fresh mozzarella ball to make a blend. The blend was 4 ounces of grated block mozzarella with 8 ounces of soft fresh mozzarella. Another 4 ounces of the block mozzarella was set aside for melting over the top of the lasagna. I also picked up a 10 ounce carton of grated Parmigiana Reggiano that will be included in some layers as well.

When the sauce is almost ready, add the remaining chopped parsley to the pot and stir well. Once the sauce is to your liking, turn off the burner and let cool. This is the time to start your water to boil for the lasagna noodles. Boil 1 (8 ounce) package of lasagna noodles for 6 minutes. Don’t overcook the noodles, but take them out al dente because they will continue to soften as they bake. Pat the noodles dry and lay flat on parchment paper so that they don’t stick together.

Time to assemble this lasagna. As I stated earlier, my 9″ x 13″ baking dish is only 2 inches deep so I am going to make 2 pans of lasagna instead of the deeper lasagna dish pan needed to make one multi-layered lasagna. Start by spooning a small amount of meat sauce on the bottom so that the lasagna noodles don’t stick to the pan.

Layer the noodles on top, to cover as much of the sauce as possible.

Next, spread a thin layer of the ricotta cheese filling over the lasagna noodles.

Sprinkle a portion of the grated mozzarella mix over the cheese filling.

Now start over with another layer of lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese filling, meat sauce and a layer of the grated Parmigiana Reggiano cheese.

Top that off with one more layer of lasagna noodles, meat sauce and half of the reserved grated block mozzarella cheese. This pan should contain about half of your lasagna noodles, meat sauce, cheese filling and grated cheeses. If you have a deep dish lasagna pan, continue layering until you have filled your pan to the top. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 40 – 45 minutes. If the cheese starts to brown to quickly, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over top to keep from burning.

Doesn’t this look delicious! Depending on the serving size you can have 12 – 16 individual servings from each pan. For heartier appetites you might want to make bigger servings.

Imagine how savory, creamy and cheesy this tastes!

An Inspired Lasagna (Adapted from La Bella Vita Cucina)

Meat Sauce
1 pound lean Ground Beef
1 pound Mild Italian Sausage
1 large Onion, small dice
2 – 3 cloves Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
Drizzle of Olive Oil
2 (28 ounce cans) Whole Italian Tomatoes with sauce, blended with a hand blender
1 (12 ounce can) Tomato Paste
1 cup Water, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 cup fresh Basil, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
Salt to taste

Ricotta Cheese Filling
1 pound whole Ricotta Cheese
8 ounces whole Sour Cream
2 large or extra large Eggs
1/4 teaspoon Salt

8 ounce Package Lasagna Noodles
8 ounces Mozzarella Cheese block, grated and divided
8 ounces Fresh Mozzarella Ball, grated
10 ounces Parmigiana Reggiano, grated

To make the Meat Sauce:
Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage to the pot and use a wooden spatula to break apart the meat until it appears crumbly. Continue cooking and stirring the pot until all the meat has browned. Drain the browned meat into a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium under the Dutch oven and add the chopped onions with a drizzle of olive oil. Use a microplane grater to grate 2 – 3 large cloves of garlic and add to the pot. Stir the onion/garlic mix as it begins to soften and become fragrant. Add the browned meat back to the pot along with the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, fresh basil and 2 tablespoons of the fresh parsley. Stir the pot to incorporate all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let cook for an hour uncovered or until the sauce has thickened. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley to the sauce about 15 minutes before the end of your cook time. Taste and add salt if needed. Remove bay leaf from the sauce before assembling.

To make the Ricotta Cheese Filling:
Combine the ricotta cheese, sour cream, eggs and salt together. Stir until the mix becomes creamy. Set aside in the fridge if not using immediately.

Combine half of the grated mozzarella block with the grated fresh mozzarella ball and mix together. Set aside the other half or 4 ounces of the grated mozzarella to top the lasagna. In a separate bowl add the Parmigiano Regiano.

Boil lasagna noodles for 6 minutes (al dente). Remove and pat dry with paper towels and lay flat on parchments paper . The noodles will continue to cook when baked.

To Assemble Lasagna:
Ladle some of the meat sauce on the bottom of your baking dish; just enough so that the noodles do not stick.

Lay the lasagna noodles over the sauce, side by side so that all of the sauce is covered within the pan. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cut some of the noodles to fit.

Spread a thin layer of the ricotta cheese filling over the lasagna noodles. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella mix over top.

Make another layer of lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese filling, meat sauce, and then sprinkle half of the Parmigiana Reggiano cheese over top.

Top with lasagna noodles, meat sauce and half of the reserved grated mozzarella.

**If making a large deep dish pan you can continue making layers until you have reached the top of the pan. If not, measure the ingredients in half to fill 2 (2 inch deep) 9″ x 13″ pans.

Serve lasagna with warm bread in bread dipping spices with olive oil.

Bread Dipping Spices

1 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Turkish Oregano
1 teaspoon Parsley
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt

Mix herbs together and store in a small container secured with a lid.

Drizzle olive oil in a small shallow bowl and add the amount of spices you want to dip bread.