Extra Cheesy Classic Homemade Lasagna
Basic lasagne recipe
Adapted from: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/extra-cheesy-classic-homemade-lasagna/
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 box pasta sheets
Red Sauce
- 4 ounces pancetta (chopped (optional, but adds great flavor))
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced or grated)
- 1 red pepper (diced)
- 3/4 pound ground spicy italian chicken sausage or regular spicy italian sausage
- 1/4 pound ground chicken or ground beef
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups water
Bechamel Sauce
- 1 cup milk (I use 2%)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk (I use 2%)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups provolone cheese (shredded, divided)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated, plus more for serving)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- chopped parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Pasta Sheets
- boil the sheets in water according to the package directions (maybe a little less since they will cook more)
- Set sheets aside until ready to use
Red Sauce
- In a heavy bottomed pot, cook 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the pancetta over medium heat, stirring, until the pancetta is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring, until the veggies are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Push the veggies off to the side of the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the center of the pan and crumble in the ground sausage, ground chicken or ground beef.
- Cook without stirring for 3 minutes and then begin breaking up the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the oregano, basil, parsley and thyme. Cook another minute or so.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 cups water, 1 cup milk, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot.
- Cover the pot and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 2-3 hours. If the sauce seems too watery after 2 hours remove the lid and simmer until thickened.
- Discard the bay leaf, taste to season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. At this point the sauce can be placed in the fridge overnight or up to 3 days. You may also freeze the sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the milk in a steady stream. Add the nutmeg and simmer for 3-5 minutes, whisking until thickened.
- Remove from the heat, stir in 1 cup of provolone and the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
- Let cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
Assembling
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. If baking the lasagna right away Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spoon a little of the red sauce over the bottom of the dish.
- Cut the sheet of dough to fit inside your dish. I can normally get 2 1/2 sheets to fully make one layer of pasta cover the bottom of the pan. Fit into the pan where it is needed.
- Now spoon about 1/2 of the remaining red sauce over the noodles. Drizzle about 1/3 of the Béchamel on top of that.
- Layer more pasta over the Béchamel. Now add the remaining red sauce and another 1/3 of the Béchamel.
- Add the last layer of the pasta.
- Pour the remaining Béchamel over the noodles and then sprinkle with a the remaining 1 cup of shredded provolone and mozzarella.
- If you like, sprinkle some Italian Seasoning over the cheese
- Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover the the lasagna. At this point the lasagna can be placed in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Bake, covered for 1 hour and then uncovered for 15 minutes more.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley
- Let stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing.