Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those dishes that I never get right. It’s always too saucy, or not saucy enough. The noodles are too mushy, or too hard. I have tried many iterations of lasagna over the years to disappointing results. So I kind of just gave up on making it. Baked Ziti? Chicken Parm? Eggplant Rollatini? Give me the other Italian casseroles all day long. But lasagna stymied me.

Until I found this recipe.

Now, my dislike of Giada De Laurentiis is not a secret. First of all, her head is too big for her body. Plus she is always wearing low-cut shirts (Adam calls her “Giada De LaBoobies). I don’t like her personality, but I’ve yet to try a recipe of hers that wasn’t good.

So, I would have been content to let other people make lasagna, but Adam (who’s now my fiancé by the way) really likes it, so I figured I’d give it one last try. I read lasagna recipes until my eyes were blurry. Finally, I found this one.

It was phenomenal.

And I’m not really a lasagna person, but this was so good.

It was also really time-intensive and involved, but if you have a Saturday or Sunday morning with nothing to do, it’s well worth it.

So Giada, I guess you’re not all bad.

Classic Italian Lasagna

Ingredients

For the Bechamel Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk at room temperature
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• salt and pepper

For the Lasagna:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
• 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (*I only used one and thought it was plenty)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Bechamel Sauce: In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
3. In a sauté pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
4. In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
6. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover, and put on the middle rack of the oven to bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

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