Moms Homemade Lasagna
Lasagna al forno (aka Baked Lasagna) is a traditional Italian dish that is loved by people all over the world. And no one makes it better than my momma.This classic baked lasagna al forno is made by layering flat, wide noodles with a hearty bolognese sauce, meat sauce, creamy béchamel sauce, and grated Parmesan cheese, then baked in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Servings: 8
Calories: 514kcal
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 1 lbs ground veal
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 onion
- 750 ml tomato puree
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 leaves fresh basil or ground basil
- ½ cups water
Pasta
- 500 g oven ready lasagna noodles (or regular lasagna noodles)
Other ingredients
- 1 cups parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 cups mozzarella shredded
- 2 eggs hardboiled, optional
- ½ cups water (for lasagna assembly)
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- In a large saucepan heat up the olive oil and brown the onions and garlic. Toss in the veal and brown the veal. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add nutmeg and continue to brown veal. Add tomato paste and stir into coat all of the ground meet.
- Add tomato puree and bring to boil. Add oregano and basil. The sauce will cook down and get thick, if necessary add ½ cup of water as you don't want your sauce to thicken when working with pre-cooked noodles (you can always add water when you are assembling the lasagna if you're not sure). Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 20 minutes. Once the sauce has cooked, set aside and start to prepare the cheeses and noodles.
Lasagna Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- In a medium sized glass dish or aluminum tray (9 x 8), place ½ cup of water and one scoop of the sauce and spread over the bottom of the dish. Then start to layer the pasta sheets. Cover the first layer of pasta sheets with the meat sauce. Layer more noodles on top being careful to alternate the direction of the noodles so that you are not just stacking noodles in the same direction one on top of another. You need to alternate, like you are weaving a basket.
- In the second layer, add the shredded parmiggiano, mozzarella and one egg. Put the third layer and just use sauce and keep alternating meat sauce with meat sauce, cheese and egg until you have used up all the sauce or reached the top of the baking dish. Make sure that there is sufficient water when baking with oven ready noodles as they will need sufficient liquid to cook properly. The liquid level should come up at least past the first noodle. If more liquid is needed, strategically add it along all sides as the lasagna cooks in the oven.
- Bake at 350 ℉ for 45 to 60 minutes. You will know when it is done when a fork is inserted in the pasta comes out easily. Once the Lasagna is cooked, let it stand for about 10 minutes so that it sets and is easy to cut and serve.
Notes
If you are not using oven ready lasagna noodles, prepare the noodles as per the box instructions. For best results, cook the pasta until "al dente" (firm, not fully cooked). Remove from pasta water and place in a bowl filled with cold water.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of Dish | Calories: 514kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 1304mg | Potassium: 909mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 875IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 233mg | Iron: 3mg