Lasagna

Hey everyone,

Didn't get a chance to post anything last week, so I felt I'd make up for it with two posts for this one. So to start, I'm going to talk about the lasagna that I made over the weekend. It's my adaptation of a family recipe, so this time I'm going to lay out the whole process from start to finish, and y'all can tell me what you think.

THE INGREDIENTS!
tomato sauce (see recipe below)
1 lb lasagna noodles
1 16oz tub of ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (1 cup + 1 cup)
1 package mozzarella (in natural ball form), sliced
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to taste/cover
10oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed (need to ditch as much water as you can)
1 egg
2 lbs ground meat, browned (I used mild Italian sausage, but beef works too)

This is actually pretty straightforward. Warm up the sauce in a pot or saucepan, then stir in the cooked meat. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, the spinach, 1 cup of mozza, the egg and the Parmesan (1/2 to 1 cup approx) together in a separate bowl. Boil the pasta according to the box's instructions, then drain.

In the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan, spread a little of the sauce, then add your first layer of pasta, Follow this with a layer of the cheese mixture, then more noodles. Next comes a proper layer of the sauce, and throw some of that sliced mozzarella cheese on as well. Repeat the pattern until you're done, but try to end with sauce on top. Spread the remaining shredded mozza on top, along with more Parm. Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour, or until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

For the sauce:
1 yellow onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic, finely chopped (a few spoonfuls of the pre-chopped stuff works fine)
a good splash of olive oil (maybe a quarter cup)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste (8oz I think)
white wine
balsamic vinegar to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Italian seasoning blend to taste

In a medium bot or sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil with a pinch of salt until the onion takes on a golden color. Add a good splash of wine to deglaze the pan (you're trying to get all the brown bits off the bottom to mix back in) then add the tomatoes in their crushed and paste forms.



Stir to combine, then add a splash of wine, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce to taste, along with some black pepper and a generous pinch of Italian seasoning. Honestly, you just add the bits in until it tastes like how you want it too. No, really, it's just a matter of experimentation!

So have fun!