Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The best Lasagna ever made!! Well by me anyway.....

I love making lasagna from scratch. It just takes forever and a day to make it and do it right but honey let me tell you it is soo worth it! I have been searching for years to find the perfect combination of flavors. When I made it last week I think I finally got it right.

First I made Italian meatballs the night before and let them marinate in jarred marinara sauce overnight. I also made a Bechamel (white cream sauce).

Next I made the cheese mixture of ricotta, asiago, parmesan and mozzerella cheese with fresh italian parsley, black olives and pesto.

Then I prepared the noodles according to package directions and then gave them an olive oil bath.  Oven ready noodles work just as well too.

Once I had all the ingredients together, the layering process began.

The whole process took forever but Maaaannn! It sure was good and I know this because there were no leftovers. Ha! Ha!

Italian Meatballs

1/2 cup of milk
2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 fresh chopped parsley
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 T miced garlic
2lbs ground chuck
1lb ground Italian sausage
2 T. sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinammon
2 eggs
1 t salt
1 1/2 t pepper
1 tsp cavenders greek seasoning

Mix mixture with your hands and roll in to medium 2-bite size balls. Fry in olive oil and until brown. While the meat balls are cooking warm up 2 jars of marinara sauce. You can make own sauce but that’s a whole ‘nother post. When the meatballs are brown let them simmer in marinara sauce until ready to serve. You can serve them with parmesan garlic mashed potatoes or pasta for traditional spaghetti and meatballs. In this case I mashed them to make a meat sauce.

Bechamel Sauce:

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 Cups milk
1 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1 tsp paprika
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Melt butter and whisk in flour.  Pour milk in all at once ant whisk until smooth and add seasonings. Add cheese and simmer on low heat until thickened.

Ricotta cheese mixture:
12 oz ricotta
1 cup each shredded parmesan. asiago, and mozzerella cheese.
2 T pesto sauce
1 T crushed black olives
1 T fresh parsley
2 eggs
Mix all ingredients well.

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