Barefoot Contessa's Lasagna

"Great served with a salad, garlic bread and a nice Chianti! Very generous servings."
 
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photo by Toni312 photo by Toni312
photo by Toni312
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
16
Yields:
1 Lasagna
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1½ teaspoons of the salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 25-30 minutes, until thickened and tomatoes have reached desired taste.
  • Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
  • Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of Parmesan.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Questions & Replies

  1. After I make this, how would I go about freezing it? And, can you use ground beef instead of Italian sausage?
     
  2. Made the lasagna. Soaked uncooked lasagna noodles in hot water for 20 minutes. You could taste the starch in the noodles. It ruined the lasagna. Has this happened to anyone else?
     
  3. Great recipe! Next time I will less than the 1 1/2 tsp of salt and also cut bak on the mozzarella. But that's just a personal preference.
     
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Reviews

  1. I made this for Christmas for 16 people. Everyone loved it. I also added meat to sauce. I did not have goT and used mascarpone,it worked very well. The. BEST lasagne recipe I believe I have made
     
  2. Absolutely delicious! I will add a caveat that the amount of meat/sauce is not quite enough. I've made lasagne many times over the years and I could tell it wasn't enough so I added one jar of prepared ragu and 1/4 lb. ground beef. I also added a little bit of water at the end. I would make sure you have the sauce on hand just in case you feel you need to add it like I did.
     
  3. My Husband's favorite meal is lasagna. This is by far the best one I've ever made for him. So rich and flavorful! My entire family and extended family loves it. Never had one person I've made it for not rave about it. Making it tonight for my baby's third birthday!
     
  4. I'm giving this five stars because my guests and husband really loved it. I found it to be a bit too cheesy/salty. If I were to make it again I'd cut back on the mozzarella to 3/4lb. Fresh mozzarella definitely makes all the difference. I was suprised at how well it held up with only two layers of pasta. I did use whole wheat sheets of pasta, which I think helped. (Couldn't tell they were whole wheat)
     
  5. I would drop the temp down to 375 and cover with foil for the first 20 mins, then remove foil and bake until bubbly. This will fix any crunchy pasta issues too.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I used the turkey sweet italian sausage instead of hot, and left out the goat cheese. Hands down, the best lasagna I ever ate. It's time consuming, it took me closer to 2 hours, but well worth it!
     

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