Martha Gooch Lasagna Food

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

FAMOUS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt water; add noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Lay noodles on a baking sheet, separating layers with parchment or waxed paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, parsley, and egg. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Begin layering: Place 4 noodles in dish, slightly overlapping. Top with half the meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top with half the ricotta filling, then half the mozzarella. Repeat the layering process, ending with the mozzarella. Sprinkle top with Parmesan.
• Cover with lightly oiled foil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake until bubbling and browned, 30 to 40 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Meat Sauce: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor; add to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Assembly: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks). Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles; top with 3 more noodles. Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more. Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.) Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.

QUICK FIX LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
• Place small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan.
• Place 3 strips of uncooked lasagna noodles in pan; spread with 1/3 spaghetti sauce, 1/3 ricotta and 1/3 mozzarella cheeses.
• Repeat layers twice.
• Sprinkle with romano cheese.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and bake 30 minutes longer.
• Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

NO-BOIL CHEESY LASAGNA (VEGETARIAN) WITH OPTIONAL MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine ricotta, parmesan, and eggs and mix well.
• In a 9x13 dish, spread about 1/3 of the sauce. (About 1 cup.).
• Layer with half each of the uncooked lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, remaining pasta sauce, and mozarella.
• Repeat layering.
• Cover tightly with alumninum foil and bake covered for 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND ROASTED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil lightly with olive oil. Slice the eggplant 1/3 inch thick, sprinkle with salt and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place on the baking sheet and roast 15 to 20 minutes, until the slices are lightly colored on the bottom and soft to the tip of a knife. Remove from the oven, and carefully fold the foil over and crimp the edges together (be careful not to burn yourself!). Let the eggplant cool and steam in the foil packet for 20 minutes. Set aside and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish. Blend the ricotta cheese with the egg, water, cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and 3 tablespoons of Parmesan to make sure you have enough for the top layer of the lasagna.
• Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with a thin layer of ricotta. Spoon on a few dollops then spread it with an offset or a rubber spatula. Top the ricotta with half the eggplant, and sprinkle basil and half the mozzarella over the eggplant. Top with a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat the layers, then add a final layer of lasagna noodles topped with ricotta if any remains, and most importantly with the tomato sauce and Parmesan you set aside. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, egg, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Coarsely grate 1/2 of the mozzarella, and stir into ricotta mixture. Using your fingers, shred remaining mozzarella into 2-inch strips, and reserve.
• Spread 1/2 cup marinara in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of noodles over marinara. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan. Place a layer of noodles over the cheese layer. Spread 1 cup marinara over noodles. Repeat layering (noodles, marinara, noodles, ricotta mixture, Parmesan) 2 more times. Spread remaining marinara over cheese layer, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
• Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

EASY LASAGNA WITH COTTAGE CHEESE

Steps:

• Brown the ground beef.
• Spread 1 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 2-quart, oven-safe dish.
• Pour the rest of the sauce in with the ground beef and cook until warm.
• Layer 2 noodles, 1/3 of the meat, 3/4 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella; repeat. For the last layer, use the final two noodles, meat, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese on top.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.