lasagna that gets better every day

Lasagna!!!!!!!

Makes 1 deep lasagna pan or 1 9x13 baking dish AND a smaller casserole dish

1-2 tbsp olive oil and/or butter
1 medium yellow onion
6 garlic cloves
1-2 carrots
1-2 stalks celery
1 lb ground beef or hot italian sausage or combo thereof
Salt and freshly ground pepper
32-48 oz of canned or roasted & frozen tomatoes **see note below**
Up to 2 cups of water, depending on what kind of tomatoes you use
At least 1 tsp of several or all of these seasonings, depending on your preference: oregano, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, cinnamon

16-24 oz whole milk ricotta
16-24 oz mozzarella (whole milk, fresh mozz is best but shredded is totally fine) 
1 ½  c parm
¼ c heavy cream (omit if you use closer to 24 oz ricotta) 
Fresh or dried basil, oregano, and chives, optional 
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb lasagna noodles (THE KIND YOU HAVE TO BOIL, NO CHEATING) 

Pulse the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery in a food processor until minced. 

Melt the butter and/or oil over medium high heat and add minced veg. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant and onions are translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add tomatoes and seasonings including more salt + pepper. Bring to almost a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let it cook, stirring regularly and covering or adding water if needed to keep it from drying out, for at least 30 minutes. If you have the time, make the sauce the night before you want to eat lasagna, as the flavors benefit from cooling down and developing overnight! 

When you are ready to assemble and bake your lasagna, set a big pot of salted water to boil and preheat your oven to 375. 

Reserve 1 cup of mozz and ½ cup of parm, then mix the rest of the cheese together with seasonings. 

Boil the lasagna noodles for 4-6 minutes, until they are pliable but definitely less than al dente. Drain and coat with a lil oil or butter to keep from sticking. 

In your lasagna pan or other baking dish(es), layer about 1 cup of sauce, then noodles (don’t let the noodles overlap at all; less is more here), then ¼ of the cheese mixture, then 1 cup of sauce again, and repeat until you are out of noodles and still have sauce! Spread sauce on top of last noodle layer and then top with your reserved parm and mozzarella. Cover the pan with foil, place on a baking sheet, and cook at 375 for around 40 minutes, and then remove the foil and turn the oven up to 450. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the lasagna is absolutely bubbling and the cheese is browning on top. 

Remove from oven, let cool just a lil, and then serve. Store covered in the fridge for up to 1 week. It gets better every day and makes a delightful and comforting lunch!!!

If you aren’t getting through it, cut the cold lasagna into serving size pieces, wrap in foil, label with date and what it is, and freeze! Defrost overnight in the fridge and then microwave to reheat or pop in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

NOTE ON TOMATOES: I used 2 pints of tomatoes that had been slow-roasted with onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and some sweet peppers in a lot of olive oil, so they were super flavorful but not very liquidy. I also added a 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and 2 cans of water. Most lasagna recipes call for a 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes that you crush by hand while adding to the browned meat + veg. I suggest using a 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (or crushed or diced, whatever you have on hand) PLUS a 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes and beefing up your seasonings (especially if using ground beef, maybe not necessary with hot sausage) with more basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Or use a can of rotel instead of the fire roasted tomatoes? Let me know!! 

other Notes:

• you can totally add more veggies to substitute in part or totally replace the meat. the vegetarian lasagna I made with my middle school students for years called for 24 oz of cremini or baby bella mushrooms and 24 oz of italian eggplant diced, but we routinely made it with whatever seasonally available veggies i subjected them to, like turnips or even cabbage! if well seasoned and properly cooked, it will taste good, especially layered with 2lbs of cheese :)

• use the smaller measurements if you only want to make 1 big pan of lasagna. i was using up what i had when creating this recipe!