Four Meat Ragu Lasagna Food

LASAGNA ALLA BESCIAMELLA

Steps:

• To make the meat ragu: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the ground beef, sausage, salt, basil, Italian seasoning, oregano and pepper to taste and increase the heat to high. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned all over. Add the tomatoes. Pour some of the wine into the empty tomato boxes to rinse out the last bits of tomatoes and add to the pot, along with the remaining wine. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the sauce thickens and the flavors come together, about 1 hour. Add a healthy amount of black pepper.
• To make the besciamella: Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour to the butter and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and then loosens again, about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking almost constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and use immediately.
• To make the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread an even layer of the meat ragu over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce lengthwise across the short side of the pan. Avoid overlapping or allowing them to touch the sides of the pan because they will expand as they cook. Press down slightly to let the sauce spread around them. Cover with one-quarter of the besciamella and sprinkle with one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add another layer of ragu. Add 3 more noodles, arranging them in the opposite direction from the first layer and breaking 1 of the noodles in half if necessary to fit. Add one-quarter of the besciamella and half of the mozzarella. Make a third layer of ragu, noodles (alternating directions again), besciamella and one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add another layer of ragu, then the remaining mozzarella, noodles (alternating the noodles again), besciamella and ragu.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is brown and bubbling, about 20 minutes more. During the last 10 minutes of baking, scatter the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano all over. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

FOUR MEAT RAGU LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the onion, celery and carrots and continue to cook for 6-7 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the meats and cook, stirring frequently, until deep brown in color. Add the wine to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup stock to the saucepan and simmer, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another 1/2 cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock and milk. Partially cover the pot and cook for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat for another 45 minutes so the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a large baking dish, spread a thin layer of the bechamel sauce. Add a layer of pasta, then a layer of bechamel and then a layer of rag. Repeat until you have used all of your pasta. On the top layer of pasta, spread the bechamel sauce and top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Cover with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

EASY SHORTCUT LASAGNA

Steps:

• If Adding Meat Layer:.
• Combine ground beef, egg, finely minced garlic and garlic powder, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan and chopped Italian parsley in a large mixing bowl. Run water over the bread slices to soak them and squeeze the water out. Add a splash of wine if desired.
• Mix meat for several minutes by hand, and roll out into fairly compact and tight meatballs. I make mine about 1 inch to 1.5 inch in size.
• Brown / sear the meatballs while continually rolling them with the utensils of your choice. I use two wooden spoons, but I've also used tongs to do this. The key is to get them browned enough to be "medium rare", not raw, as the cooking time is not long in the lasagna. However, they need to be done well enough to stick mostly together for slicing. I think next time I may chill them in the refrigerator. I put layers of paper towels down on a platter to hold the meatballs while they are cooling off.
• If Adding Spinach Layer:.
• Steam the spinach until it softens somewhat. It will continue to soften further in the lasagna while it's cooking.
• Making the Lasagna:.
• Open the jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce, and heat to a low simmer. If using meatballs, put them in the sauce to soak up some additional flavor.
• Note about the sauce: I am Italian American, and make my own marinara sauce from scratch several times a year. It takes all day, so I freeze it in storage containers for later use. However, when I use store bought sauce, I prefer the sauce made by Del Grosso, a small company in Tipton, Pennsylvania. Their products include both inexpensive sauces, and a line of specialty ones called "La Famiglia Del Grosso that are roughly twice the price of Ragu or Prego ($6-$7 a for a 26 ounce jar). This recipe is about shortcuts, not making things from scratch. The company's "Aunt Mary Ann's Sunday Marinara" tastes very, very much like the sauce I make from scratch, so that is what I used for this recipe.
• Here is the product link:.
• http://www.delgrossosauce.com/content/aunt-mary-anns-sunday-marinara-1.
• Boil the lasagna noodles to just below al dente. What worked for me as a guess was one minute shorter than the lowest recommended time - this was 9 minutes for the Mueller brand noodles that were on sale for 2:1 the day I was shopping for supplies for this project. The noodle layers will also soften while the lasagna is cooking, so do not worry if they are a little stiff.
• If using meat, remove the meatballs from the sauce and slice into roughly ¼ inch slices. Don't worry if the crumble (as some will). These will form the meat layer of the lasagna.
• Wash and chop the Italian parsley and sweet basil into fairly small pieces. In a big mixing bowl, combine evenly the ricotta cheese with the chopped parsley and basil, the ground pepper and the pinch or two of granulated garlic.
• Put a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 11, 10 x 13, or 12 x 11 pan (your sizes may vary somewhat). I used a Pyrex type glassware for mine.
• Layer the lasagna noodles with slight overlapping in the pan. If you need to, don't be afraid to use small "band aid" sections or cross sections to make the layer. You should have plenty of noodles.
• Using a spatula, or spoon of your choice, make a layer of sauce covering the noodles. Add a layer of the ricotta mixture covering the sauce. If adding meat, arrange slices or crumbles of the meatballs next. If not, use the steamed spinach to create a veggie layer. Now sprinkle a later of mozzarella cheese, and top with a light to moderate dusting of parmesan cheese.
• You will now repeat the process at least one more time. Depending on the depth of your pan, and the thickness of the optional meats, it could be twice more:.
• 1) Noodles.
• 2) Sauce.
• 3) Ricotta mixture.
• 4) Meat or spinach.
• 5) Mozzarella cheese.
• 6) Parmesan cheese.
• The last layer does not contain meat or spinach, and will be roughly at the top of the pan itself. That's fine. The top layer should be with noodles, a some sauce and a mix of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
• Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake at 350 F for a total of 45-50 minutes. Remove the foil after the first 30 minutes so that the top can brown lightly into a crust. Let it stand for 15 or 20 minutes before serving to firm up the layers, and avoid burning your tongue.
• Hope this works out for you, but it has become a family favorite in our house, and only takes a short while to prepare when compared to the time investment in a day-long "from scratch" lasagna recipe.