This recipe for the worlds best Lasagna comes from Allrecipes
member, John Chandler.
One reviewer wrote that, "it's an excellent and authentic recipe.
A little more work and ingredients, but well worth it."
Well made from scratch comfort food like this dish, usually is.
This recipe will take about half an hour to prep,
and 2 and a half hours to cook; though you can make it ahead of time,
and bake it about an hour before serving
First up, homemade meat sauce.
In a dutch over, cook a pound of sweet italian sausage over medium heat.
I'm removing these casings, and adding just the sausage mixture.
When it's almost browned, we'll add 3 quarters of a pound
of lean ground beef, and brown it along with the sausage.
Mince about a half cup of onion,
and mince 2 garlic gloves.
And add those to the meat.
When the meat is well browned, stir in a 28 ounce can of
crushed tomatoes,
two 6-ounce cans of tomato paste,
and two 6.5-ounce cans of tomato sauce.
Add a half cup of water, and mix everything together.
Next, season the sauce with 2 tablespoons of sugar,
1.5 teaspoons of dried basil,
half a teaspoon of fennel seeds,
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning,
A tablespoon of salt,
a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper,
and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
Simmer the sauce, covered, for about 1 and a half hours,
stirring it occasionally.
One reviewer wrote: "I made this sauce the day before,
and simmered it for 6 hours. Sounds like a lot of work,
but how hard is it to check a pot simmering?"
She had enough sauce for 2 pans of lasagna, so she made two:
baked one, and froze the other.
Now, let's make the noodles.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and cook12 lasagna
noodles for about 8 minutes.
I cook mine a little shorter than the box directions, so that they're
al dente, because they'll finish cooking in the oven,
and absorb that delicious sauce.
When they're done, drain them, and cool them in cold water
so they don't stick.
For the cheese filling, mix a 16 oz container of fresh ricotta cheese
with 1 egg,
and another 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
Season the cheese mixture with a pinch of salt.
Now you can preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
And let's assemble our masterpiece.
Spread 1 and a half cups of the meat sauce in the bottom
of a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.
Arrange six overlapping noodles, lengthwise, over the meat sauce.
Spread them with half of the ricotta cheese mixture.
And top that with about a quarter pound of thinly sliced
Mozzarella cheese.
Next, we'll spoon 1 and a half cups of the meat sauce over the mozzarella.
And sprinkle it with a quarter cup of grated Parmesan.
Repeat that same layer again.
Then we'll top it with more sauce.
And then Parmesan cheese.
Cover the top of the lasagna with foil, and to prevent it from
sticking to the cheese, either spray it with cooking spray,
or make sure the foil doesn't come in contact with the cheese.
Now we can bake it in our preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Then, remove the foil and bake it for an additional 25 minutes,
so that the Parmesan melts, and forms a nice, crispy top!
Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Now is this really the best lasagna in the world?
Well, on reviewer said, "my hubby is a lasagna snob and he said this
this IS the best lasagna recipe ever!"