Italian Lasagna

This was one of several lasagna recipes I found clipped from newspapers and tucked into a notebook. Lasagna is one of my favorite pasta dishes, second only to ravioli (watch for the ravioli filling recipe that’s coming soon!). We’ve also recently discovered that my son John also loves ravioli! The original recipe clipped from the paper came from Sue Farrell in Ladysmith, Wisconsin.

Print

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole basil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cans (1 pound each) tomatoes (I used crushed)
• 2 cans (12 ounces each) tomato paste.
• 3 cups ricotta
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
• 10 ounces lasagna noodles.

Instructions

1. To make meat sauce, brown meat slowly; drain off fat. Add garlic, basil, salt, canned tomatoes, and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
3. Combine ricotta, parmesan, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper to make cheese filling.
4. Place half of the cooked noodles in greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Spread with half of the cheese filling. Cover with half of the mozzarella and half of the meat sauce. Repeat layers.
5. Bake at 375° F for 30 to 45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting to allow filling to set slightly.

I’ll admit, I didn’t read the recipe well before I made this. I only thawed one pound of ground beef and was short one can of crushed tomatoes. To make up for the missing tomatoes, I added a jar of sauce. I also bought shredded mozzarella instead of a brick to slice. We had extra shredded cheese, so we topped the lasagna with (a lot) of shredded cheese.

I remember debating with my dad once when making lasagna about whether to use ricotta or cottage cheese. Dad wanted to use cottage cheese because it’s cheaper. I wanted to use ricotta because it’s delicious. We compromised that time and got a small container of each. When I make lasagna and other cheese filled pastas today, I always use ricotta. Do you use ricotta or cottage cheese in your lasagna?