1.18.2011

Classic Italian Lasagna

In a way I see it kind of pointless to copy a recipe from another recipe blog just to put on my own recipe blog. What do you girls think? Well, The only reason I'm going to do it here is because next time I'm going to do a few things differently (and there WILL be a next time) I make this. It was fabulous and I thank Mel from mykitchencafe for posting this recipe from wherever she got it from. Here it is...make it. I don't even really love Lasagna but this was fabulous! I made two 8x8 pans and froze one and we had one for dinner two nights in a row...can't wait for the frozen one!

Classic Italian Lasagna

Red Sauce:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped (omitted these, thanks but no thanks)
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

White Sauce:
3 cups milk (not skim)
5 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

9 lasagna noodles, boiled for half the time on the box. - I used the no-boil noodles (Barilla Brand) obviously don't boil these...skip the boiling step.
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (I would use a little less cheese next time, there was plenty of cheese)
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the turkey. When cooked through, drain. (I like to put it in a strainer and run hot water over it to get as much grease off as possible) Set aside.

In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out. Remove from heat and blend vegetables into a paste-like mixture - because I did not use mushrooms in this recipe, I opted to NOT blend my onions. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in pot) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey. - NEXT time I make this I think I'll 1.5 this red sauce and meat part of the recipe. I could have used just a little more of this when I made (and ate) my lasagna.

While the red sauce simmers, boil your noodles if you need to. Once cooked (for half the amount of time on box) drain but do not rinse. Add a dab of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip this step.

Also, while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four Tbs. butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk he shite sauce, ensuring it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowing stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish! (Oh yes I wish!)

To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you'll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese - so plan on splitting all the sauces and cheese into thirds so you don't run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.

Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Removes the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!!

1 comment:

dixie said...

Actually, Tar, I view this as a place to gather all my favorite recipes in one place so I don't have to search the internet for "that one delicious recipe I tried." So I LOVE to post recipes from other websites. So keep them coming!