World's Best Lasagna -- Seriously.

I love lasagna. I used to hate it, because I used to hate mixing foods. I was one of those people who refused to have her foods touching on the plate. But the first time I had lasagna (I think it was my freshman year at Amherst), it was love at first bite. Since then, I have been on the hunt for the perfect lasagna bolognese. I was pretty sure that Pasta E Basta had perfected the recipe - until I tried this.

The first time I had this dish was this past summer with several of my Amherst friends under the direction of recent alum Jordan Gilbertson '10. I made it alone for the first time for my parents and sister, and made it a third time this past weekend for a big family event. Some of the responses included:

"This is UNBELIEVABLE."

"I consider myself a lasagna aficionado, and this is seriously the best lasagna I've ever tasted."

"What did you put in this?! It's amazing!"

"I can honestly say this is the best birthday dish I have ever had." (The Guest of Honor)

"Can you pack some of this up for me to have a 2AM?" (My cousin, a cop on the Friday night shift)

Good cooking tunes - very important!

Have I built this lasagna up enough for you yet? Good. Because it is definitely time consuming, but it is also COMPLETELY worth it. And, best of all, the leftovers taste just as good (maybe even better!) for the next few days.  The original recipe is from allrecipes.com, but there are a couple tweaks I've made that I think make a serious difference, so I'm posting my version. Enjoy with a Caesar salad, garlic bread, and a nice red wine (or all by itself, since it's so hearty ... except, don't skip the wine). Hope you love it!

World's Best Lasagna
Serves 12 (well, if each person has one piece ... and trust me, you'll want more than one)
Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

3/4 pound lean ground beef (I usually do 85-90%)

1/2 cup (heaping) minced white onion

4 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 oz) cans canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 box lasagna noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced (get those big fresh balls, it makes a big difference!)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Part One - Incredible Sauce

In a medium-large sauce pot, cook onions, garlic, ground beef, and sausage over medium heat until well browned. I like to put the onion and garlic in first, to brown it a bit before adding the meat. In terms of the sausage, you can try to slice it, but I think it tastes best to squeeze it out of the casing and mix it up into the ground beef (plus it's fun!) Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the freshly chopped parsley. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. I usually like to let the sauce simmer uncovered for the last 10 minutes, just to allow some of the excess water to evaporate out.

This sauce on it's own is incredible; try it on pasta some time if you're looking for a good bolognese.

Part Two - Prepping the Pieces

While the sauce is cooking, get the other parts and pieces prepped. Slice the mozzarella (about 1/4 of an inch thick). In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return to fridge.

When the sauce has about 1/2 an hour left to simmer, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 7-9 minutes. The amount you will need will depend on how large the noodles you purchased are; you'll be using a 9X13 inch Pyrex and there will be three layers of noodles, so you can figure out what you'll need. Drain noodles, rinse in cold water, and layer between paper towels.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

*An Interjection About Lasagna Noodles*

You'll probably see when you go to buy the lasagna noodles that there are a lot of "no boil" options. I am not a fan. I find that the no boils come out chewy and unpleasant, and sometimes don't cook completely so you get those nasty hard spots, and don't layer well during the building process. You can still boil the no boils before layering them, so regardless of what type you end up purchasing, boil first! Mmmkay.

Part Three - Layering (aka The Fun Part!)

Layering the lasagna is my absolute favorite part. Once the sauce and noodles are ready, it's time to start layering! In a 9X13 inch glass Pyrex (can you tell I love using my Pyrex?) first spread down a thin layer of the sauce. Arrange one layer of noodles. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, and evenly spread out 1/3 of the mozzarella slices on top. Spoon on a thick layer of sauce, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan. Repeat starting with noodles. After the second layer is done, add a third layer of noodles, cover with the remaining sauce, and top with the final 1/3 of mozzarella and final 1/3 of Parmesan.

All layered and ready to hit the oven!

Part Four - Baking

Cover with foil - being very careful that the foil does not come in contact with the lasagna (you can spray it with a little cooking spray if you're worried). Bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes until cheese on top looks all melty and delicious. Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.

Serve and soak up the praise!