Lasagna With Basil and Fennel
- Ready In:
- 1hr 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated (about 4 cups packed)
- 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 1⁄2 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fennel seeds (I've added as much as 3 teaspoons and it's still great)
- 1 1⁄2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 (1 1/2 ounce) packets spaghetti sauce seasoning with mushroom flavors or 3 -4 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes in puree
- 1 cup canned low sodium chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles (from one 8-ounce package)
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Mix 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl.
- Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and fennel seeds; sauté 5 minutes. Add beef; sauté 10 minutes, breaking up meat with fork. Mix in seasoning, then tomatoes, broth and wine. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper.
- Spoon 1 1/3 cups sauce over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce. Drop half of ricotta cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly over. Top with half of basil leaves, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Continue layering with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce, remaining ricotta cheese mixture, remaining basil, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Finish with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese (reserve remaining sauce for another use). Cover with foil; place on baking sheet.
- Bake lasagna until heated through, about 1 hour. Uncover; let stand 15 minutes. Cut lasagna into squares.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl at heart, and I've only recently started forcing myself to eat vegetables -- I suppose that's what happens when you are raised to believe that a meal isn't really a meal unless you're eating meat! My passion for food started with my parents -- since food is such a focus of Filipino culture, anything was an excuse for cooking a large meal and inviting friends or family over. Cooking, on the other hand, is something I've only recently started enjoying -- I love having adventures in different parts of the world, and when I can't do that, I love having adventures in the kitchen. So I experiment a lot with new recipes and I'm always in search of the perfect version of something.
I moved up to NYC a couple of years ago for work, and it's been heaven. The food in this city is fantastic, and I especially enjoy going out into Queens for ethnic dining. I work at a union full of burly guys who love to eat, so it's nice to be in like-minded company -- the granola vegans at my last non-profit job just didn't understand.
I'm taking ceramics classes and I travel widely -- my next trip is to Egypt, Jordan and Jerusalem in the fall.