My first job in the restaurant business was as a dish/pot washer at a local diner. I was encouraged to get my cleaning done quickly so that the owners could teach me to prep and even cook. I was interested in learning.
The chef owner's dad had been a cook in the army. One of the many dishes he taught me to cook is lasagna and it's the recipe I have always used.
Holiday Lasagna
Lasagna is one of the oldest types of pasta dishes. Some people use a bechamel sauce, I like ricotta cheese as the filling with a zesty, tomato sauce and loads of shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese. I add a pinch of nutmeg, it's delicious.
I used to serve seafood lasagna at my restaurant years ago as a popular special. I added poached lobster, crab, shrimp etc... to this same recipe (no meatballs).
Delicious!
Making Lasagna
Prep Time: 60 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Yield: 6 portions
Ingredients
12 oz. Lasagna sheets
3 lbs Ricotta cheese
3 ea. Eggs, cracked/whisked
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg, grated
2 pints San Marzano tomato sauce (see recipe in blog)
1 lb. Mozzarella, shredded
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
t.t. Black pepper
How to Prepare Holiday Lasagna
Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, place the lasagna pasta sheets into the water, one at a time to avoid sticking.
Simmer until tender (about 8 minutes) and strain, cool in cold water, strain and reserve.
Step 2
Put the ricotta cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 lb shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese into a bowl. Whisk together.
(I add one egg for each pound of ricotta cheese).
Step 3
Ladle a few ounces of tomato sauce in the bottom of the casserole or tray you will make the lasagna in.
Place 3 or 4 cooked, lasagna noodles onto the sauce slightly overlapping. Ladle a few more ounces of sauce over the noodles. Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the sauce and spread it out evenly.
Add some sliced meatballs and 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella and 1/3 of the grated parmesan cheese onto the meatballs, then repeat 2 more times building the lasagna.
Note: Lay each layer of lasagna sheets in the opposite direction. This will make the lasagna firm and slice well.
Ladle the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle a little mozzarella for decoration. Bake in a preheated oven for one hour at 300 F. Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes to set before slicing.
Place a sheet of foil over the top if the lasagna is browning or drying too quickly.
You can add cooked sausages, mushrooms, eggplants, seafood etc... in between the layers to create a vegetable lasagna or seafood lasagna etc...
