A Very Italian and Hearty Lasagna

One of my favorite dishes growing up was Lasagna. Oh what a treat it was when we had that wonderful delectably delicious Italian dish. Many of the lasagnas that I have tasted throughout the years often come with this very thin sauce with barely any meat in it. Below is my own recipe that has a very hearty and thick sauce in it. The thickness comes from not only the abundance of meat in the sauce but also from the onions and the diced tomatoes that are throughout the sauce.

Lodge Logic Dutch Oven, 5qt. (Google Affiliate Ad)


Ingredients:

1 pound of coarsely ground beef chuck,
3/4 pound of ground Italian sweet sausage,
1 large onion, coarsely chopped,
Three garlic cloves, finely minced,
2 (15 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes including the liquid,
1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce,
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste,
1/4 cup of a good red wine,
1/4 cup of beef stock,
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning,
1 teaspoon of oregano,
1/2 teaspoon of basil,
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper,
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes,
1 teaspoon of sugar.
1 (9 ounce) box of Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
1 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

You will want to place the chuck, sausage, chopped onion and garlic in large skillet or Dutch oven and brown the meat.

Once the meat has been browned you will want to add the tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, the red wine, the beef stock and all of the seasonings with the exception of the sugar into your Dutch oven. You will now want to bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer gently for about 3 to 4 hours. I like to cook the sauce this long since it allows the flavors to come together nicely and it also thickens the sauce. If the sauce becomes too thick you can add either some water or some more wine, but do not add more then another 1/4 cup of the wine. Towards the end you will want to taste the sauce and add the sugar. Adding the sugar to the sauce will reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. At this point you will also want to adjust your seasonings to your own taste. I usually end up adding a bit more Italian Seasoning to the sauce since I just love the flavor. Just remember to add a little at a time and not a lot since you can always add more seasonings but you can not take them out.

When the sauce is done you will now want to assemble your lasagna. While assembling the lasagna pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

To assemble your lasagna take a 9 x 13 x 3 inch baking pan and spread about 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then place the no-boil lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, making certain to layer the noodles. You now will want to ladle 1 to 1 1/2 cup of the sauce over the noodles, making certain that they are fully covered. Now take 1/3rd of the ricotta cheese and dab it here and there on top of the sauce, trying to place it equally on top of the sauce. It’s a bit hard to spread ricotta cheese since its so thick so just dab it here and there and when it cooks the cheese will melt evenly. Now sprinkle 1/3rd of the mozzarella cheese over the top and then 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese on top of that. Please make certain that the Parmesan cheese that you are using came from the refrigerated section of your market. Do not use that horrible stuff that they call Parmesan cheese that is purchased off the store shelves. You will now want to place another layer of the no-boil lasagna noodles on top of the cheese. Now place 1 to 1 1/2 cup of the sauce on top of the noodles and then place the cheese on top of the sauce as described above. Next place another layer of the lasagna noodles on top of the cheese and then add about 1 to 1 1/2 cup of the sauce on top of them. You will finish assembling your lasagna by placing the remainder of the cheese as described above on top of the sauce. Your lasagna is now fully assembled and ready to bake.

 You will want to cover your lasagna with foil so that it doesn‘t burn while baking. To prevent the foil from sticking to the lasagna you can either spray the foil with cooking spray or be very careful and make certain that the foil does not touch the cheese. Now, place the lasagna into the pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes you will want to remove the foil and then bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes. You will want to cool your lasagna for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving. I suggest serving a nice salad and some garlic bread with your lasagna for a complete meal.