This is a relatively easy version of a Southern Italian Style lasagna with ricotta cheese and mozzarella. You can make it even easier by using no-boil lasagna sheets and skipping the cooking the pasta step. Some people might turn their nose up at the idea of using the no-boil pasta, but not all shortcuts are bad, and I have found that they work just fine in this lasagna.
This is a relatively easy version of a Southern Italian Style lasagna with ricotta cheese and mozzarella. You can make it even easier by using no-boil lasagna sheets and skipping the cooking the pasta step. Some people might turn their nose up at the idea of using the no-boil pasta, but not all shortcuts are bad, and I have found that they work just fine in this lasagna.
Serves 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1-1/4 pound ground beef
1 pound ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
5 cups marinara sauce
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
1 pound lasagna noodles
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat olive oil in a medium sautè pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned through about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Place ricotta cheese and eggs in a bowl, and stir togetehr until well combined.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In 3 batches add the lasagna sheets to the boiling water and cook until just under al dente. Remove the noodles from the pot using a slotted spoon, place in a colander, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and spread out on clean kitchen towels.
- Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of a 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of 3 to 4 lasagna noodles, overlaping slightly to fit. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, top with 1/3 of the cooked ground beef. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the ground beef. Top with 1 cup of the marinara sauce, sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmaggiano-reggiano and top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat this 2 more times. Cover the final layer of lasagna noodles with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle remaining cup of mozzarella on top.
- Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, place in oven and cook for 60 minutes. Remove foil and cook until cheese is melted about 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and let sit 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
