Lasagna

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2x 28oz Cans of Crushed Tomatoes (I prefer the San Merican brand, but crushing the Cento San Marzano whole tomatoes yourself is a good alternative)
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 5 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of salt if you want

Lasagna:

• 1 Box dried lasagna noodles (Ronzoni is good)
• 2 pints Ricotta Cheese
• 1 1/2 lbs Mozzarella Cheese (grated fresh if you can rather than pre-grated in the bag)
• 3/4cup Grated Romano cheese
• 1/2 bunch finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 egg

For Veggie Lasagna

• 2 Zucchini, grated
• 8oz Sliced Cremini Mushrooms
• 1 bag (6oz) baby spinach
• Olive Oil for sautéing

For Meat Lasagna

• Add 1lb Italian sausage to the sauce as you’re making it or crumble it up and fry in advance

Instructions

Every interim step here should taste good so as you prep sauce/veggies/cheese stuff, you can doctor it to your taste, but go easy on the salt, because the grated cheese will add enough salt.

Make the sauce. Start by sautéing the garlic in the olive oil over medium/low heat, being careful not to brown the garlic. (If making meat lasagna, saute the sausage meat or ground meat first then add the garlic). Add the crushed tomatoes and herbs to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

If making veggie lasagna, sauté the vegetables in olive oil and set aside. Feel free to add more crushed garlic and/or black pepper if you like.

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. They will likely come out slightly undercooked, but this is ok because it will cook the rest of the way in lasagna pan.

Make a cheese mixture. Combine the ricotta, most of the grated mozzarella and most of the Romano cheese in a bowl, reserving enough mozzarella and Romano to sprinkle on your final layer. Add the parsley, nutmeg and black pepper to taste. Once you have the proportions to your liking, add 1 whole egg and mix it in thoroughly.

Assembly:

Scoop one ladle full of sauce and fully coat the bottom of a 9x13 lasagna pan. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Drop tablespoon size dollops of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles and then add another hefty ladle full of sauce. Repeat with layers of noodle, cheese mix and sauce, pressing down the noodles to smoosh out the cheese dollops along the way. On your final layer, you will likely have slightly less of the cheese mix, but you need to have enough sauce so the noodles don’t dry out when baked. Add the reserved grated mozzarella and Romano cheese and then place in a 350° oven for 35 minutes.