Italian-American Lasagna
Description
Like many Italian-American dishes, the origins of Lasagna can be traced back to Italy. Different regions in Italy have their own variations of Lasagna, but the most iconic version would be Lasagne alla Bolognese, which consists of layers of wide egg pasta noodles, Bolognese meat sauce and bechamel sauce. Italian-American Lasagna most closely resembles the variety of Lasagna that is popular in the south of Italy, near Naples. This makes sense given that the majority of Italian immigrants to Italy came from southern Italy, who adapted their food traditions upon arriving in America . Neapolitan Lasagna usually consists of layers of semolina pasta sheets, tomato-based meat ragu sauce, meatballs, hard boiled egg, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. Italian-American lasagna is most often made with a ground meat sauce that bears more resemblance to Bolognese sauce, but is layered with ricotta and mozzarella cheese. While this recipe is more on the time-intensive side, it is nonetheless worth the effort and is perfect for a large family dinner or gathering.
Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings)
16 oz low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella (453 g)
16 oz ricotta cheese (453 g)
6 dried lasagna sheets
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese
Meat Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
¼ lb. loose Italian sausage
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
Preparation
To make the meat sauce, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a nonstick or cast-iron pan over high heat. Add the ground beef, & sausage and spread into an even layer on the pan. Cook until one side is browned, then break into tiny pieces with a spatula and cook until the meat is well-browned. In a pot, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the onions are softened. Add the meat to the pot, and add a splash of water or wine to deglaze the cooking pan and release all of the browned bit, then add that to the pot as well. Add the tomato paste, and cook for about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, and half of the tomato can’s worth of water, along with the sugar, bay leaf & pepper flakes. Turn the heat to high and bring the sauce to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and cook for around 1 hour.
Boil the lasagna sheets per the package directions and after draining, coat with a small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking. To assemble the lasagna, lay down a large spoonful of sauce in the bottom of a 6” x 10” loaf pan. Lay 2 overlapping strips of the lasagna noodles over top. At this point, divide the remaining sauce, mozzarella and Pecorino into thirds, and divide the ricotta in half. Lay down ⅓ of the remaining sauce, followed by ½ of the ricotta, ⅓ of the mozzarella and ⅓ of the Pecorino. Lay down 2 more noodles and repeat. With the last layer, lay down 2 noodles and top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella & Pecorino.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 8 equal squares and serving.
Notes
Feel free to omit the sausage from the sauce, or use a mix of ground beef, pork and veal if you want.
You can make a vegetarian version of this dish using a basic tomato sauce instead of meat sauce - simply omit the ground meat from this recipe.