Three Cheese Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the garlic and onions, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until just softened. Add the sausage and ground pork and stir to break up the meat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat starts to color, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the browned bits, until the alcohol smell is cooked off. Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, the basil, oregano and bay leaves and season well with freshly ground black pepper. Stir until well mixed and the tomatoes start to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• For the lasagna: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Spread 2 cups of the sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Layer 4 noodles over the sauce, top with 2 cups more sauce and spread it evenly over the noodles. Evenly dollop one-quarter of the ricotta across the sauce, top with one-quarter of the mozzarella and sprinkle evenly with one-quarter of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, for a total of 4 layers.
• Cover with foil and bake until the liquids are bubbling and the noodles are beginning to soften, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and the noodles are completely tender, about 20 minutes more. Allow to rest 20 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• FOR SAUCE:
• Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic; sauté until softened, about 12 minutes. Add beef and sausages to pan; sauté until cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.
• FOR LASAGNA:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water.
• Combine ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.
• Drain pasta and pat dry. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, spreading with spatula to cover (sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in pasta from the dinner mix, contents of seasoning mix, water, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and onions. Bring to a boil. , Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10-13 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. , Transfer to two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. , Cover and bake the remaining casserole 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. , To use frozen casserole: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until heated through.

Steps:

• Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into meatballs - you'll get about four balls from each sausage. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide, deep frying pan or casserole dish. Cook the meatballs in batches, making sure you don't overcrowd the pan, until they're all golden brown. Put them aside on a plate when they're ready.
• Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook for 8-10 mins until soft, then stir in the garlic, fennel, oregano and chilli, if using. Stir around for a min or 2, then add the sugar, passata and tomatoes. Swish a little water around the containers to wash out all the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 mins over a gentle heat until the sauce thickens and the chopped tomatoes break down.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the bay leaves and let them sizzle in the butter for 1 min, then add the flour. Whisk to make a smooth paste, then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously until it's all incorporated and you have a thick white sauce. Add the nutmeg and some seasoning. Leave over a low heat for 5 mins to allow the bay to infuse, whisking every now and then.
• Keep about 10 meatballs aside and add the rest to the tomato sauce. Spoon half the tomato sauce and meatballs into a baking dish (ours was 25cm x 35cm). Top with half the spinach, the basil and a little parmesan. Pour over about a third of the white sauce, and top with a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them up to fit the dish if you need to.
• Repeat the layers once more; meatballs and sauce, spinach, basil, parmesan, white sauce, pasta. Pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagne, spreading it to the corners to cover the pasta. Dot with the meatballs you set aside earlier and the mozzarella, then scatter over a generous helping of parmesan and cheddar. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Or if not eating straight away, chill for up to 24 hrs or freeze for two months (defrost in the fridge overnight before cooking).
• Bake the lasagne for 40-50 mins until bubbling and golden with lots of crusty cheesy bits around the edges. Leave to sit for 5-10 mins before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and lay lasagna flat on foil to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper; mix well.
• In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic for 2 minutes; stir in spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning. Heat sauce until warmed through, stirring occasionally, 2 to 5 minutes.
• Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spread half the ricotta mixture over noodles; top with another noodle layer. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce over noodles, and spread the remaining ricotta over the sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce and sprinkle mozzarella over all. Cover with greased foil.
• Bake 45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and top is golden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, pulse tomatoes until coarsely pureed. In a large deep skillet, bring tomatoes, garlic, and oil to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce to a simmer and cook on medium until thickened, about 12 minutes (you should have 5 cups marinara sauce).
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together egg yolk, ricotta, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• Carefully pour sauce into a heatproof bowl and return 3/4 cup to skillet; spread sauce evenly. Add a single layer of noodles, breaking them up to fit. Top with half the ricotta mixture, spreading evenly. Follow with a second layer of noodles, then 1 1/2 cups marinara. Add a third layer of noodles, then remaining ricotta mixture. Follow with a final noodle layer, then remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and pecorino over top.
• Bake lasagna until golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.