How to Prepare Meaty Homemade Lasagna

Crispy edges, a cheesy center, and properly cooked fresh lasagna pasta sheets will be wrapped between a creamy parmesan white sauce, an abundance of cheese, and meat in your lasagna.

Ingredients

Meat Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

700 grams ground beef mince

300 grams of ground pork mince or beef

700 grams Passata

410 grams of crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 beef cubes, crushed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper, to taste

White Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups milk

1 cup fresh shredded parmesan

Lasagna:

375 grams fresh lasagna sheets

500 grams fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Procedure

Meat Sauce:

In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the onion and carrots and simmer until softened.

Sauté the garlic for about 1 minute, or until aromatic.

Cook until the beef and pork are browned, breaking it up with the back of a spoon.

Combine the passata, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed beef cubes, and dry herbs in a large mixing bowl. Toss everything together and bring to a medium simmer.

Season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. 

Cook while covered, for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened somewhat and the meat is cooked, stirring periodically.

Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs to taste, if needed.

White Sauce:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat for the Parmesan White Sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the flour until thoroughly combined.

Return the pot to the stove, drop the heat to low, and whisk in 1 cup of the milk until smooth.

Add the remaining milk in 1 cup increments, mixing thoroughly after each addition, until the sauce is completely smooth and free of lumps. If the sauce is too thick, thin it up with a little more milk until it reaches a creamy consistency.

Increase the heat to medium and simmer, stirring regularly, until the sauce thickens.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the cheese until it melts.

To assemble:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Cover the base of a 9x13-inch baking dish with about 1 cup of beef sauce, then cover with lasagna sheets.

Layer the lasagna sheets with one cup of white sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese, and enough meat sauce to cover the pasta. Repeat the layers, reserving the last of the cheese for the top.

Over the last layer of lasagna sheets, pour the leftover meat sauce and white sauce and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes, or until brown and bubbling.

Before slicing and serving, garnish with parsley and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Tips for cooking lasagna

You can make your own lasagna sheets from scratch or purchase fresh lasagna pasta sheets from the supermarket.

Before assembling the pasta sheets, add two tablespoons of olive oil to the boiling water to keep them from sticking together, and stir them occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Then, to aid stop the cooking process, carefully transfer each cooked lasagna sheet to a big dish or saucepan filled with chilly water. Keep them in there until you're ready to utilize them. This keeps them from drying out or sticking together.

The meat sauce is created with a mixture of ground beef and pork to give it a rich flavor and texture. If you don't like pork, beef can be substituted, but the pork gives the sauce a more classic lasagna flavor.

Most sauces start with crushed tomatoes, but we like to add richness by adding a bottle of Passata or American tomato paste. The use of tomato paste produces a thick, rich sauce.

When layering your lasagna, make sure the top layer is pasta, followed by meat sauce, white sauce, then mozzarella cheese. This method produces a crispy and cheesy top layer with a layer of juicy meat sauce underneath.

Summary

Many people consider Lasagna to be a delightful comfort food since it has hearty pasta, rich cheese, spicy tomato sauce, and a variety of vegetables or meats. The nutritional value of lasagna varies depending on the ingredients used; nonetheless, most lasagnas have a number of nutrients in common, such as carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fat.