Ingredients:
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup minced onion (optional: half red & half yellow)
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water or red wine
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves or 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 12 lasagna noodles 8-9inchs long (whole wheat or spinach noodles also taste great)
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾-1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instruction:
Place a large pot over medium-low heat. Remove casing from Italian sausages, place in pot and break up sausage meat, also adding ground beef and breaking up as well. Immediately add onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, water (or red wine), basil, grated carrot, fennel seeds, oregano, salt and black pepper. Stir well, cover, and let simmer on low heat for at least 1 and ½ hours, stirring occasionally. (Tip: the longer you let slow simmer the more favor. Can also be made the day before and placed in refrigerator for additional added flavor.)
30 minutes before you begin the layering process of your lasagna, carefully place all 12 lasagna noodles in a large pot or bowl without breaking and pour boiling water over noodles. Let it sit (do not place on additional heat) for 30 minutes; this will nicely soften your noodles without over cooking them or making them soggy. (Note: if you are using just bake lasagna noodles, you can place them in dry and uncooked into your lasagna, just follow the packaging cooking directions as some take longer to bake but usually turn out just as delicious!)
Grate your mozzarella and parmesan cheeses at this time. Also in a bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1 egg and nutmeg.
Now for the layering: In a 13×9 deep non-stick baking dish, evenly spread about 1-1 ½ cup meat sauce, place 4 lasagna noodles horizontally down the pan, spread evenly with ½ cup ricotta mixture, and a light layer of mozzarella. Next continue layer accordingly: meat sauce/ 4 more lasagna noodles/1/2 cup ricotta/half of parmesan cheese amount/ meat sauce/lasagna noodles/light layer meat sauce then top with mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Cover lasagna with tin foil and place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F/190C for 25 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for an additional 25 minutes. Once removed from oven, let it rest and set for 15 minutes.
The meat sauce is also excellent to use in chicken parmesan or anywhere else you’d use a red sauce.
