An eye-rolly pet peeve is when websites say “this recipe is super easy” then post a 26-step process that takes half a day and utilizes a mandolin. People, “easy” is taking frozen tater tots and covering them in pre-bagged shredded cheddar.
Henceforth, here is my very best lasagna recipe workshopped dozens of times to perfection, but I will tell you right good and damn now: None of the steps are “hard,” but this is not an “easy” dish. This is for impressing people. This is a labor of love. This is when you need a superstar main dish that will dazzle a huge dinner party.
Also in a measly effort to make this “easier” (ugh I hate me), I do this in stages over two days to make this less overwhelming, but let the record show I just told you the way to make this simpler is by cooking for two days, so don’t listen to anything I say.
Here are your main elements:
- Meat sauce
- Ricotta mixture
- Bechamel sauce
- Noodles
I do #1 and #2 the day before, so just in case you want to space this out, I’m going to list the ingredients in two parts. Or you can be an absolute hero and do it all in one day. Also, this makes a GIANT pan of lasagna (or two normal pans) that feeds 15-20 people, and I’ll tell you right now, you better do it. Because the only thing bad about leftover lasagna is zero things. (Or assemble a second pan and freeze it for later because you are a badass.)
One last note: these quantities are flexible and forgiving. I make this without a recipe if that tells you anything. Use however much you want, just remember to taste as you go and you can always add more.
Day One: Meat Sauce and Ricotta Mixture
- 1 lb. ground Mild Italian sausage
- 1 lb. ground Hot Italian sausage
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 green bell peppers, diced
- 8-12 cloves of garlic, diced (YOLO)
- 1-2 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
- 3 28-oz cans of crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen or Cento)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 TBSP salt
- ½ TBSP pepper
- 1 big bunch of basil, chopped
~
- 1 32-oz + 1 15-oz container of whole milk ricotta (don’t get that skinny ass kind)
- 64 oz. mozzarella blocks which you must then shred yourself. I don’t make the rules.
- 15 oz grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup dried Italian seasoning
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 TBSP salt
- Fresh chopped basil, optional
These two elements are the flavor stars, so don’t be pissed at them for *waves hand around* all these ingredients.
Let’s do that meat sauce. In a giant pot, brown the Italian sausage over medium-high heat. Remove with a slotted spoon to bowl and drop the heat to low. Into all the yummy drippings, add the onion and green bell pepper and cook down for 6-8 minutes. Push to the side, and on the empty side, add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Saute until sizzling and fragrant, about five minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir until the oil is incorporated. Add back in the sausage.
My preference here is to keep the heat on low and simmer for two hours. The longer it cooks, the deeper the flavors get. At the two-hour mark, taste and adjust any seasoning. When you have it like you like it, take it off the heat and stir in the chopped basil. VOILA. Store in the fridge until tomorrow when it will, astonishingly, be even better. Or use immediately if you are being a one-day hero.
—
Set aside 4 cups of the mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan in a Ziploc bag. In a bowl big enough to hold 7.88 pounds of cheese (don’t @ me), combine the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan, the ricotta, Italian seasoning, beaten eggs, and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until tomorrow.
Day 2: Bechamel and Noodles
First of all, thank Yesterday You for getting y’all this far. All but one layer is prepped and ready, and your main job today is to assemble and bake. If you are a one-day hero, time to do some stretches and take three Advil.
- 10 TBSP butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
~
- 26-30-oz fresh pasta sheets
Exciting news: not only did I just make your lasagna ten times better with fresh pasta (unrivaled), I eliminated the fussy, pain-in-the-ass step of parboiling dried noodles. And guess what, campers: Walmart has the yummiest, cheapest fresh lasagna pasta sheets I found.
Set your meat sauce and ricotta mix on the counter to take the chill off, and set your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bechamel time: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt your butter then add the flour. Whisk constantly until the flour is fully incorporated, and the mixture is a light sandy color and smooth, about 5-6 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high and slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to smooth out the mixture.
Once it is smooth, turn the heat to medium low and continue to cook (whisking often) until the flour has softened and is no longer gritty, about 15 minutes or to your desired thickness (I want it kind of like a thick pancake batter). Turn the heat off and add the salt, nutmeg, and cayenne. Taste it! Make sure it is flavored well! I always add a little more of sumthin’.
ASSEMBLY TIME, AVENGERS!
In the largest, deepest pan you have, or using two regular 9×13 pans, ladle a cup or two of meat sauce on the bottom. Add one layer of fresh pasta with no gaps. Dollop on some ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Add a layer of meat sauce. Pasta. Ricotta mixture. Add a layer of Bechamel. Pasta. Ricotta mixture. Meat sauce. Pasta. Ricotta Mixture. Bechamel.
Keep going until you are at the top of your pan. The final layer is the mozzarella/parm you set aside on top of either the meat sauce or Bechamel (whichever one you ended on). Wrap this whole beast with foil, and if you love yourself, lay some foil on the bottom of your oven because this saucy girl gets bubbly and oozy.
Bake covered for an hour. Take the foil off and bake another 15 minutes until the cheese is browning and bubbling and out of control. With the strength of a thousand farm girls, take this out and let it set for 15 minutes before cutting into it.
This is objectively delicious and not up for debate. A thousand small details add up: Italian sausage instead of ground beef, hand shredded mozz instead of bagged, blooming all your spices in olive oil, fresh basil, the long simmered sauce, the fresh pasta, the double sauces, the creamy rich Bechamel. Outrageous.
Wouldn’t this be a delicious Christmas day dinner??