Quick-ish Meat Lasagna
There's no super fast way to make homemade lasagna, but this is the quickest method I have come up with. It takes about 20-30 minutes to put together and an hour to bake. The main short cuts are store bought tomato sauce, no boil lasagna sheets and a ricotta mixture instead of bechamel. If you prefer traditional boiled noodles, that will work too! Definitely buy a good sauce. I like to make my own, but in a pinch (and for quick lasagna) I buy Rao's - it's really good. If it's a good sauce, you shouldn't have to add more garlic, basil or seasoning.
You can leave the meat out and do a vegetarian lasagna, maybe bulk up the tomato sauce by adding some sauteed cubed veggies like zucchini, sweet potato or carrot. I add water to the tomato sauce because no boil lasagna sheets require a more watery sauce - they will essentially be boiled IN THE SAUCE! Of course you can use traditional lasagna noodles (they will give you a superior texture) if you have the time to boil them ahead. Make sure when you drain them you lay them flat on an oiled baking sheet so they don’t get sticky and clumpy in a colander.
Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1.5 lbs organic beef
1 24 oz jar tomato sauce
2 x 15 oz containers ricotta
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
grated nutmeg (optional)
1 tbs chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1/2 c grated parm
no boil lasagna sheets (about 12) or par boiled regular lasagna noodles (boil about 8 minutes)
1.5 cups grated mozzarella
Method:
In a large saute pan heat olive oil and add beef. Sautee about 5 minutes, breaking up meat with a spatula or spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer.
While sauce is simmering make cheese filling. In a large bowl mix ricotta, egg, garlic, salt, nutmeg, basil and parmesean.
Take tomato sauce off heat. Lightly oil a 9x13" casserole dish. (You can use something slightly smaller too, just make sure to put your dish on a foil lined cookie sheet in case there is spill over. I do this no matter what size pan I use.) Add 1/2 cup tomato sauce and then three sheets of noodles. Don't over lap them. Some gaps are fine. Next add a layer of ricotta mixture. Then 3 more sheets of noodles, then sauce, then noodles. Repeat. Your last layers should be noodles and then either ricotta or sauce. Just don't let your top layer be dry noodles. Also, layers don't have to be perfectly spread, it will all fuse together while baking.
Sprinkle grated mozzarella over the top. Take a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover lasagna and lightly oil it (this will help prevent cheese from sticking to it.) Cover lasagna with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil carefully in case there is a little sticking and place under broiler for 3-5 minutes until golden bubbles appear. Be careful not to burn it. If you don't have a broiler you can just leave it in the oven another 10 minutes uncovered.
Let sit for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting.
Serves about 8
Comments