My Favorite Lasagna
Makes a 13 X 9 size lasagna
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For the mornay sauce:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2½ cups chicken stock
2-3 cups grated parmesan cheese, plus more for the top
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
freshly grated nutmeg
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the meat sauce:
2 large jars (24 ounces or more) of your favorite tomato sauce, purchased or homemade
olive oil, for drizzling
1 cup yellow onion, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-pound Italian sausage, loose, removed from casings if any
1-pound ground beef
For building the lasagna:
2 packages oven ready lasagna pasta sheets, my favorite is Barilla brand
32 ounces ricotta cheese
sliced fresh mozzarella, for the top
basil leaves, for garnish
non-stick cooking spray
Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
Make the mornay sauce:
Melt the butter in a pot, add the flour and cook stirring over low heat for 4-6 minutes. You do not want any color on the roux, if it starts to brown, lower your heat a bit. Meanwhile, heat the milk and chicken stock until just about to simmer.
Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the warm liquid. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce thickens. Stir in as much cheese as you’d like and season with a couple grates of fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Make the meat sauce:
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Cook the olive oil and garlic over low heat until soft and translucent. Raise your heat to medium, add the Italian sausage and ground beef and cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. If using beef with a high fat content, remove all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Stir in as much tomato sauce as you want and warm through. I recommend making a rather juicy meat sauce as the tomato sauce is more important than the meat in this recipe!
Building the lasagna:
Spoon some of the meat mornay sauce down on the bottom of your baking dish. Top with a little meat sauce and some dots of ricotta. Place a layer of pasta sheets down in your dish. Spoon meat sauce over the pasta, then mornay sauce. Top with dollops of ricotta cheese. Top with a layer of pasta, gently pressing down to compress the lasagna and remove any extra air or space. Repeat the layers until you reach the top of your dish. On the top layer, spoon a thin layer of the meat sauce over the pasta. Cover with slices of fresh mozzarella.
Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover the lasagna. Place the covered lasagna on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until hot and bubbling all over. Remove the aluminum foil and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Let sit for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.