World's Best Lasagna

I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com. With a five star rating from over eight thousand reviewers, I figured it would be worth trying. I was right!

The original recipe can be found here: World's Best Lasagna

I followed the recipe pretty closely, making a few minor changes here and there. 

For my lasagna I used the following:

 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
 3/4 pound ground beef (80/20)
 1/2 cup minced onion
 3 cloves garlic, crushed
 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
 2 (8 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
 1/2 cup water
 2 tablespoons white sugar
 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
 1 tablespoon sea salt
 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
 12 lasagna noodles
 16 ounces ricotta cheese
 1 egg
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
 3/4 cup grated Parmesan & Romano cheese

The recipe calls for you to brown the meat in a dutch oven and then add the tomato sauces and other ingredients to the same pot. Instead, I browned the meat in a frying pan and then transferred to a large pot. I didn't want to include all of the fat from the meat mixture, so this allowed me the opportunity to drain the grease before adding the final ingredients.

So I added the tomatoes - crushed, sauce, and paste - and 1/2 cup water to a 6-quart pot, and then added the cooked and strained meat mixture. I turned the heat to medium.

While the sauce was warming up, I prepared the remaining ingredients. 

The recipe calls for dried basil but I used fresh basil leaves from the garden. I chopped both the basil and the parsley by grabbing a small chunk of leaves, twisting gently, and slicing into thin strips. Then I chopped the strips into smaller pieces and repeated as necessary until I had the right amount.

I added all remaining ingredients to the meat sauce and brought the heat down a little. I covered the sauce as directed and let simmer for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. 

This is one of my favorite parts about cooking lasagna - there is so much down time you can get lots of other things done around the house! I cleaned the dishes I had made, did a load of laundry, and wrote a blog entry all while the sauce was cooking. Talk about productivity!

So after about an hour and a half, I removed the meat sauce from the heat entirely and set aside. I boiled water with a dash of salt and a splash of olive oil. Once boiling I added the noodles and cooked for 8-10 minutes. When they were done to my satisfaction, I immediately drained the water from the pot and ran cold water over them as directed.

Now we are finally ready for the fun part - layering the lasagna! Make sure to preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

I added each layer according to the recipe; starting with meat sauce, then noodles, then half the ricotta mixture. 

I added 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese slices, which I unintentionally broke into pieces when dividing my slices. Then I added more meat sauce and a thin layer of Parmesan & Romano cheese.

I repeated the layers as directed and topped with a final layer Parmesan & Romano and mozzarella cheeses.

I covered the dish with non-stick aluminum foil and baked in the oven for 30 minutes. After letting sit for about 15 minutes, we dove right in. 

I have to say - this is by far the best lasagna I have ever made. 

Thanks jonchandler!

Pasta alla Carbonara

Pasta alla Carbonara is an authentic Italian dish that is very simple to make with a small number of ingredients ( a great way to use leftover breakfast foods!).  The final result has a complex and rich flavor, and is comparable to the familiar American classic, Mac n Cheese.  The sauce is mainly comprised of raw eggs yolks and Parmesan cheese, which are tempered with some of the seasoned pasta water and become a creamy, wonderful sauce.  There are also a lot of variations to this recipe, so odds are you could throw this together with the stuff you've already got sitting around the fridge!

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces slab bacon or pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

4 large egg yolks plus 1 whole egg

1/2 cup seasoned pasta water 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning or Oregano

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

To begin, I cut my bacon into lardons and put them in the frying pan over medium.  I did not add oil to the pan, but rather cooked the bacon in its own fat.  These should be well done, so the bacon remains crispy and creates a contrasting crunch to the pasta.  Once it has cooked completely, set aside on a paper towel to cool.

Next, boil a large pot of water and add salt and olive oil to season it.  Once it boils, set a timer and cook the pasta to be Al dente.  This dish is traditionally cooked with spaghetti or fettuccine, but I used Campanelle simply because I had it on hand and like the shape.  For the pasta I chose, it took 11 minutes to cook perfectly.

Using the egg shell, separate 4 eggs yolks and put them in a large bowl (that will later hold the pasta).  Add one whole egg and whisk.

Add the Parmesan cheese, whisk.  Add the bacon, fresh pepper, and Italian Seasoning; more whisking!

The sauce should become quite thick.  The eggs will scramble (which we do not want!) if they are not slowly brought to a higher temperature.  At this point, take a ladle of the hot pasta water and add it slowly while constantly whisking the sauce.  The sauce should become smooth and glossy.  An alternative to this would be to add cream or milk which has been heated.

Add the hot pasta to the large bowl containing your sauce mixture, again this is to keep the eggs from curdling by keeping the sauce away from direct heat while it tempers.  Mix the ingredients until the sauce is evenly coated- And serve!  It is notable that salt was only added to season the water and not to the final dish; the bacon will act as a source of salt in the pasta and creates a wonderful balance with the freshly ground pepper.  Top it all off with a sprinkling of Parmesan or Romano Cheese.

Some variations to this recipes would be to add mushrooms, peas, broccoli, onions or other vegetables - or to add a cream instead of pasta water to the sauce.  I hope you enjoy eating this quick and delicious recipe as much as I did!