Next Level Lasagne Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, water, fresh basil, 2 teaspoons sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, cook bulk sausage in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles, 8-10 minutes; drain. Add to sauce; simmer until mixture is thickened, about 1 hour longer., While sauce simmers, preheat oven to 350°. Place sausage links on a rimmed baking sheet; roast until cooked through, 35-40 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly; slice into 1/4-in.-thick pieces., In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, egg, dried basil and remaining sugar., In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, spread 2 cups sauce. Arrange 4 noodles over sauce; spread with a third of the ricotta mixture. Add 7 provolone slices, a third of the sliced sausage and 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times, using only 1 cup sauce per layer. Spread with 2 cups sauce (reserve remaining sauce for serving on the side), remaining 2-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese (dish will be full)., Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, uncovered, until bubbly and deep golden brown, 60-65 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining meat sauce.

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:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook according to the package directions. Strain into a colander, and toss with some oil. Drape the noodles over and around the side of the colander to cool.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and scallion whites, and cook, stirring and breaking the meat up into bite-size pieces (not crumbs), until the sausage is browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the cooked sausage, and stir until it is completely absorbed. Add 2 cups milk, and stir until it starts to thicken. Stir in the remaining 2 cups milk, bring to a simmer and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and the nutmeg. Remove the sauce from the heat, and let cool.
• Mix together the mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan in a medium bowl.
• Oil a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Spread about 4 tablespoons of the sauce (without big pieces of sausage) over the bottom. Arrange 4 slightly overlapping noodles to fully cover the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the noodles. Spread 1/2 the spinach in an even layer. Sprinkle with about 1/3 of the scallion greens, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Continue layering with 4 more noodles, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, the remaining spinach, 1/2 of the remaining scallion greens, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and 1/2 of the remaining cheese. Finish the lasagna with the remaining noodles, sauce and cheese. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Do the same with the remaining scallion greens.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Uncover the dish, and continue to bake until the lasagna is slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Top with the remaining scallions, the parsley and a sprinkle of black pepper. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, then slice and serve.