Directions: |
Directions:1. Make the meat sauce by heating up the olive oil in a 3-quart or larger saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook at a low simmer until the onions are translucent; about 5 minutes.
2. Add the beef and sausage to the pan and cook the meats until no more pink is visible; about 10 minutes. Use a large spoon to break up the beef and sausage as you cook it.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, parsley, salt, oregano, basil, and ground black pepper, and simmer the sauce uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove it from the heat and cover it until you need it.
4. Make the cheese filling by combining the ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, Romano, parsley, salt, oregano, basil, and black pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the beaten egg.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Cook the noodles for 10 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Strain the noodles and rinse them with cold water so you can handle them.
7. Spoon about 2 cups of the meat sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan and spread the sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan.
8. Lay 4 noodles on top of the sauce right up to the edge of the pan, overlapping the noodles as necessary. Cut small slices off an additional noodle to cover any uncovered sauce in the pan.
9. Spread about one-third (about 1¾ cups) of the cheese filling over the sauce. Use a large spoon or spatula to spread the cheese evenly over the pasta.
10. Spoon another 2 cups of meat sauce over the cheese and spread it out evenly.
11. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese over the meat sauce, then add another layer of noodles.
12. Spoon another one-third of the cheese filling over the noodles and smooth it out.
13. Add another layer of noodles on top of the cheese filling.
14. Spoon another 2 cups of sauce over the noodles and spread it out evenly.
15. Use up the remaining cheese filling by adding small dollops of it on top of the meat sauce and spreading it out. This is the most difficult layer to make because it’s hard to spread the cheese on top of the sauce, but it must go in this order so that the
fillings alternate throughout the lasagna. Do your best to spread out the cheese on top of the sauce without mixing the cheese into the sauce.
16. Add the final layer of noodles.
17. Spoon the remaining meat sauce over the top of the lasagna and spread it out to the edges. Your pan should be filled to the top at this point.
18. Place the pan on a large baking sheet in case some of it bubbles over and bake the lasagna for 50 minutes.
19. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top of the lasagna and turn your oven to high broil. When the cheese is lightly browned take it out the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
20. Slice the lasagna the long way down the middle, then slice across the lasagna three times making 8 servings. Sprinkle each slice with a little parsley before serving |
This recipe for OLIVE GARDEN LASAGNA CLASSICO is from