Fuss Free Lasagne Food

NO-FUSS LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add tomato paste, water, spaghetti sauce mix, sugar, parsley, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. , In a bowl, combine eggs with cottage cheese, half of the cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella. Set aside. Spoon a third of the meat sauce into a 13x9-in. baking dish. Place half of the uncooked noodles over sauce. Top with a third of meat sauce and press down. Spoon cottage cheese mixture over all. Cover with remaining noodles and meat sauce. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Freeze option: After assembling, sprinkle lasagna with remaining cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Cover and freeze unbaked lasagna. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake lasagna as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

FUSS-FREE LASAGNE

Steps:

• Make the meat sauce: heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onions for 10 mins until golden. Add the garlic, herbs and bay, then cook 2 mins more. Heat a large frying pan. Crumble in a quarter of the beef, cook until brown, then add to the onions. Continue to fry the beef in batches and add to the onions until all the meat is used up. Tip the tomatoes and ketchup in with the onions and beef. Rinse the cans out with the red wine, if you have some, or with a little water, then add to the pan. Season and bring to a simmer. Gently cook for 30 mins until thick and saucy, then set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Tip everything into a pan, season, then bring to a simmer, whisking continuously. Don't worry if it's lumpy - if you whisk enough the sauce will come together. Simmer for 5 mins, whisking, until smooth and thickened, then remove from the heat. If not using straight away, cover with cling film and set aside.
• Make sure you divide everything up so that you can make two lasagnes. Place a thin layer of meat sauce in an ovenproof baking dish, drizzle with a little white sauce and scatter with a little mozzarella. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, then top with more of both sauces, more mozzarella and more lasagne sheets. Repeat once more, then cover the top layer of lasagne in just white sauce. Finally scatter over some Parmesan. The lasagnes can now be chilled in the fridge for a day ready to be cooked, or frozen for up to 3 months - see tips, below.
• To cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Cook for 35-40 mins until brown on the top and crisp around the edges. Leave to settle for 10 mins before cutting into squares and serving with a green salad and some garlic bread, if you like.

BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook sausage, beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking up meat into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Drain., Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, 3 tablespoons parsley, basil, fennel, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally., In a small bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese and remaining parsley and salt., Preheat oven to 375°. Spread 2 cups meat sauce into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles and a third of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce and cheeses (dish will be full)., Bake, covered, 25 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 13 by 9 by 4 baking dish and add a thin layer of besciamella (bechamel sauce). Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, and then another thin layer of besciamella. Gently spread about 4 tablespoons pesto across the surface, and then top with about 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Repeat until you finish layering the lasagne. Top with a final layer of noodles and spread a final very thin layer besciamella, pesto, Parmesan cheese and a little butter to help the cheese crisp-up when cooked in the oven.
• Cook the lasagne for about 30 minutes. Serve dressed with some Parmesan and a drop of extra-virgin olive oil.
• Fresh Pesto: Combine the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil in a mortar and pestle and pound until paste forms. Add the Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.
• Keep the pesto in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
• Mix the pasta and the pesto...serve garnished with some grated Parmesan (just a touch), fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil.
• Besciamella: Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook's Note: This is an important moment, as you have to slowly toast the flour without burning it. This will help you lose the floury taste.
• Warm up the milk and gradually ladle into the pot with the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly while bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season the sauce with freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

EASY PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Place the pesto, half the mascarpone and 250ml water (or vegetable stock if you have some) in a pan. Heat and mix until smooth and bubbling. Add the spinach and peas and cook for a few more mins until the spinach has wilted and the peas thawed. Add the herbs and season.
• Place a third of the pesto mixture into a baking dish roughly 18 x 25cm. Top with 4 lasagne sheets, then repeat with 2 more layers of sauce and lasagne sheets, finishing with a layer of pasta. Mix enough milk into the remaining mascarpone to make a white sauce consistency, season, then pour over the top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and pine nuts. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges. Scatter over the reserved basil leaves and serve with a green salad, if you like.

NO-FUSS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and turn heat on medium to medium-high. Add onion and saute until beginning to turn translucent. Add salt and stir inches Add garlic, stir in and saute until fragrant and onions are totally translucent. Add basil, oregano, and pepper. Add shredded carrot, stir in and saute for about 30 seconds. Add can of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in and let simmer for at least 20 minutes and tomato paste has dissolved into the sauce.
• Spread about 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Lay three sheets of lasagna noodles on top of sauce in dish. Drop a large spoonful of ricotta on each and spread with fingers until each sheet has a fairly even coating. Sprinkle mozzarella over ricotta, then add a little bit of sauce over each sheet. Layer three more lasagna sheets in same direction as the previous layer and gently press down. Repeat until you lay down a fifth layer of noodles.
• For the final layer top with remaining sauce and mozzarella then sprinkle with a little salt, basil, and parsley.
• Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes. If desired, take off foil and put back in oven for another 5 minutes to crisp the top of the lasagna.

THE ULTIMATE MAKEOVER: LASAGNE

Steps:

• Make the meat sauce: heat oil in a large sauté pan, then tip in onion and fry for 5 mins until golden. Add carrots and garlic, then fry for 2 mins more. Stir in both meats, breaking up the pork with a wooden spoon. Cook over a high heat until the meat is no longer pink and the juices are released. Pour in wine, scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, then cook for 1-2 mins until the liquid is reduced. Tip in tomato purée, tomatoes and 2 tbsp water, then stir to break up tomatoes. Add ½ tsp nutmeg and some pepper, cover, then simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt if you like. Mix in torn basil. Sauce can be chilled for up to 1 day.
• While the sauce is simmering, prepare the other layers. Tip the spinach into a large bowl and pour over boiling water. After 30 secs, tip spinach into a colander and put under cold running water briefly to cool. Squeeze to remove excess water. Beat the egg in a bowl, then mix with ricotta, parsley, a pinch of nutmeg and pepper. Soak the lasagne sheets in a single layer in boiling water for 5 mins. (Although the packet says no pre-cook, I find soaking improves the texture.) Drain well. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
• Start layering. Spread a few big spoonfuls of sauce to barely cover the base of an ovenproof dish (20 x 29 x 6cm deep). Cover with 2 sheets of lasagne, then spread over half the remaining sauce. Cover with 2 more lasagne sheets, then scatter spinach evenly over. Spread the ricotta mixture on top and cover with 2 more lasagne sheets. Spread with remaining sauce, then scatter over mozzarella and Parmesan to almost cover meat. Top with cherry tomatoes and some pepper, then cover loosely with foil.
• Bake for 35 mins, then remove foil and bake 5-10 mins more. Leave for a few mins, then scatter with basil and serve with salad.