Day 360: Classic Lasagna and Links to Others

I've made a few different lasagnas over the past year, but never a real classic lasagna.  (I'll include the links to the others at the end of this post.)  Lasagna is a pretty basic, traditional dish, which is why I think I never found a recipe for classic lasagna in all of my searching through my recipe books.  Chefs these days are always trying to do something different with lasagna.  Maybe I was a little scared to make my own lasagna in the beginning of this blog.  I knew I could probably make one and it would be good, but I wanted it to be GREAT.  I wanted to make the best lasagna that my Italian husband had ever tasted.  That was a tall order.  When Randy was a bachelor, you could pretty much make him any homemade meal and he would rave about it.  He and his brother didn't eat a lot of home-cooking when they were living in a condo on their own.  But now he's been married to an aspiring home-chef for about 5 years and he's had a lot of good home-cooked meals.  If I was going to make him THE BEST classic lasagna he had ever had, I needed to use everything I've learned so far about really good cooking.  And tonight, I think I accomplished that.  Without going too crazy or over-the-top, just trying to keep it basic, I give you THE BEST Classic Lasagna...

Classic Lasagna

1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
half of 1 large carrot, grated
1 TB dried basil leaves
1 TB dried oregano leaves
dried parsley
salt, pepper
1/2 cup red wine
3-4 cups traditional homemade spaghetti sauce (or jarred marinara sauce)
32 oz ricotta cheese
2 TB grated Asiago cheese (optional)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
2 TB fresh basil, chopped
1 egg
8-10 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

LASAGNA NOODLES: TO BOIL OR NOT TO BOIL?  That is the question.  So, when buying lasagna noodles you have some choices out there.  You have to boil your lasagna noodles unless the box says "Oven Ready."  So it seems like the obvious choice to buy "oven ready" noodles so you can skip the step of pre-cooking your pasta.  But you have to be careful because if you buy "oven ready" noodles, that means they are going in the lasagna hard.  You have to be sure that each and every part of each and every noodle is covered by enough sauce liquid so that it softens in the oven, otherwise you'll be crunching down on your lasagna and end up with hard pasta stuck in your teeth!  So if you don't like a lot of sauce in your lasagna, you're probably better off boiling your noodles ahead of time.  In fact, some lasagna recipes out there call for "oven ready" noodles but you have to soak them in hot water first anyway.  Huh?  If you're going to do that, then I say just boil them!
THE SAUCE: The noodles may be the structural part of the lasagna, but I really do believe that the sauce is the foundation.  My husband loves marinara sauce.  I use my own homemade sauce (see link above) because I know it's delicious and we both love it.  If you don't have homemade sauce on hand, you can easily concoct your own the night you make the lasagna.  When you're cooking the meat and it comes to the step to add the sauce, you can either add a jarred marinara sauce, or a simple canned tomato sauce and add your own seasonings to it.  If you want a chunky sauce, opt for a can of crushed tomatoes and put in some dry Italian seasonings.  But what if you're not really a marinara sauce kind of person?  No problem.  Instead of adding sauce, just add a little tomato paste for flavor.  You also may want to add some beef broth for a depth of flavor and so the meat doesn't dry out in the oven.

Now, on to the recipe...

Preheat the oven to 375*.  In a large skillet over medium heat, begin browning the ground beef.  I use 80/20 meat because the fat adds more flavor and then you don't have to use oil in the pan.  When the meat is almost completely brown, add the onion and garlic.  Season with the dried basil, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Then add the shaved carrot.  This adds a nice sweetness to the meat.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Pour in the red wine and cook another minute.  Now add the sauce (homemade, jarred, tomato paste, whatever you want to use.)  Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer then turn off the heat.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of parmesan, the Asiago cheese (if using, I happened to have some on hand, which is why I used it), the egg, fresh basil, and salt and pepper.  Mix well.
In a 13 x 9 pan, spread out a thin layer of meat sauce.  (Remember, I used "oven ready" noodles, so I want them completely surrounded by moisture in the oven.)  Then top the sauce with the noodles.  Spread a layer of the ricotta (half your mixture) on the noodles and top with more meat sauce.  Continue the pattern: noodles, ricotta, meat sauce one more time.  I had more noodles and sauce so I did one more layer of noodles, then a final layer of sauce on the top.  So I started with sauce and ended with sauce.  On top of the sauce, I sprinkled my mozzarella cheese, combined with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan.  Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.  Let stand for at least 5 minutes.  Sprinkle the fresh parsley on top for garnish.
Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Links to previous lasagna recipes:

1. My own Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna: http://bethanysmeals365.blogspot.com/2014/06/day-142-chicken-broccoli-alfredo-lasagna.html

2. Vegetarian Lasagna: http://bethanysmeals365.blogspot.com/2014/02/day-23-red-green-vegetarian-lasagna.html

3. Turkey Sausage Lasagna: http://bethanysmeals365.blogspot.com/2014/04/day-74-turkey-sausage-lasagna.html

4. Two-Sauce Pasta (like a lasagna, deconstructed): http://bethanysmeals365.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-sauce-pasta-days-134-138.html

5. Swiss-Chard Manicotti (manicotti reminds me of lasagna noodles, which is why I included this one): http://bethanysmeals365.blogspot.com/2015/01/day-358-swiss-chard-manicotti.html