Johns Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Place sausage and ground beef into a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until meat is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Break the meat apart as it cooks. Stir in mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, Italian herb seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until mushrooms have given off their juices and bottom of pan is almost dry. Pour prepared marinara sauce into meat mixture. Pour water into marinara sauce jar and shake to get all the sauce out of the jar; add to mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is extremely tender, about 2 hours. Add a little more water if sauce becomes too thick. Skim excess fat from surface of the sauce and season with more salt and black pepper, if needed. Turn off heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit (190 degrees C). Beat eggs in a large bowl and stir in ricotta cheese, 8 ounces diced mozzarella cheese, and 2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Season cheese mixture with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne pepper; mix in parsley. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse noodles and set aside in a bowl of cold water. Spread 1/4 the sauce into the bottom of a 10x15-inch baking pan. Top with 1/3 the noodles and spread 1/2 the ricotta cheese mixture over noodles. Spread 1/4 the meat sauce over the cheese, top with 1/3 the noodles, and spread remaining 1/2 the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Spread 1/4 the meat sauce over the cheese filling. Tap the casserole dish lightly on a sturdy work surface to settle the layers. Arrange last 1/3 the noodles over sauce and spread remaining 1/4 the sauce over the noodles. Dot top of the casserole with 4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cover casserole with aluminum foil, being sure not to touch the top of the casserole with the foil. Place casserole onto a baking sheet to catch spills. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook until lasagna is golden brown and bubbling, 30 to 35 more minutes. Let set for 20 minutes before cutting into squares.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Set out 4 small, shallow, oven-proof baking dishes or ramekins.
• Combine eggs, salt, olive oil, water, and flour for pancakes in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly until very smooth, then let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Brush oil into a nonstick skillet and set heat to medium. When the skillet is hot, add about 1/4 cup batter and tilt the pan so it evenly coats the bottom. Cook until the batter sets and the top surface goes from looking wet to dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for 1 minute. Transfer to a plate and repeat to make remaining 3 pancakes. Cut each pancake into 3 triangles.
• Combine ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, cayenne, basil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for filling in a bowl; mix with a fork until thoroughly combined.
• Prepare lasagnas: Spread 2 tablespoons marinara sauce into the bottom of each baking dish. Lay 1 pancake triangle on the sauce, then top with about 2 tablespoons ricotta filling, 1 tablespoon Monterey Jack cheese, and 2 teaspoons marinara. Repeat to create another layer, slightly pressing down on the second pancake triangle before topping with filling and cheese. Top with the remaining pancake triangle, pressing down slightly. Add remaining marinara and Monterey Jack, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano, and drizzle with olive oil.
• Place the baking dishes on a large sheet pan and bake in the center of the preheated oven until lightly browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then garnish with basil and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the peppers and saute for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and saute 3 minutes before adding the tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes (the longer the better as long as the sauce is not sticky.)
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• While the sauce cooks, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan. Add the flour into the butter, stir vigorously for 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese, reserving as much as you will want to sprinkle on top of the lasagna. Stir the cheese into the flour and butter mixture until it has melted completely. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• Soak the lasagna noodles in water for 30 seconds.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared dish with some of the tomato sauce, followed by a layer of the lasagna sheet, and the cheese sauce. Continue layering these ingredients ending with a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle the final layer of cheese sauce with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and the reserved cheese.
• Bake the lasagna 40 to 50 minutes, until the top of the lasagna is golden brown.