Lasagna with meat sauce

November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ Connie

There are three important things to remember when making lasagna to make sure that it can be sliced easily and served without the layers falling apart and looking like an incomprehensible mess on the plate. First, a thick meat sauce. Second, enough cheese to bind the layers. Third, the baked lasagna must be allowed to rest before cutting and serving. Other than that, anything goes, really. Parmesan cheese is traditional but my girls aren’t crazy about the way Parmesan cheese smells so I use either sharp cheddar, mozzarella or Monterey Jack, or a combination of two or more.

Step 27

Lasagna has got to be Speedy’s most favoritest pasta dish in the whole world. Not the girls though (Alex is the spaghetti girl while Sam is the macaroni girl) but, sometimes, Speedy’s preference has to take precedence. So, we had lasagna over the weekend.

This recipe is for a large rectangular glass tray of lasagna.

Ingredients:

8 lasagna noodles (4 to 6 noodles if using extra wide)
2 tbsps. of butter for greasing

For the meat sauce:

200 g. of belly bacon (smoked or regular but not honeycured), finely sliced
200 to 250 g. of very lean ground beef (or you can finely mince the beef at home so you can control the amount of fat better)
1 large white onion, chopped
2 c. of canned chopped tomatoes, with the juices, or 2 c. of homemade tomato sauce
a few sprigs of fresh oregano (leaves only)
about 70 g. of spicy chorizo (I use Bilbao or Iberico), sliced then chopped into very small pieces
salt
pepper
a bit of sugar

For the white sauce:

a cup of cream cheese (a 250 g. block is just about right), plain or chive and onion flavored, at room temeprature
a cup of cream
a 250 g. block of sharp cheddar cheese (or a combination of your preferred cheeses), grated

Make the meat sauce

Cook the bacon until it starts to render fat. Add the minced (or ground) beef. Cook, stirring, until the beef changes color. If your meat is lean enough, it’ll soak up whatever fat the bacon has rendered.

Add the chopped onion. Stir. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the onion bits soften, about five to seven minutes.

Add the oregano and chorizo to the bacon and beef. Stir well.

Add the chopped tomatoes with the juices (or your homemade tomato sauce). Season with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar to offset the sour notes of the tomatoes. Stir. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, to reduce the sauce. Reduction is the key to a rich and flavorful sauce.

After about 20 minutes, the sauce should have reduced considerably and the mixture should be thick but not dry. This is the consistency you want to make sure that your baked lasagna turns out moist but not soupy. Adjust the seasonings by adding more salt, pepper, sugar or all of them. This is your last chance to get the right balance so taste and taste again. You can’t adjust the seasonings anymore during assembly.

Cook the lasagna noodles in boiling water. Add a tablespoonful of oil so that the noodles don’t stick to one another. When done, drain, then douse with very cold water.

Meanwhile, prepare the white sauce. You can start preheating the oven at this point too. At 375oF.

Easy, no-cook, white cheese sauce for your lasagna

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl. Add the cream. Mix until smooth. Add half of the grated sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever combination of cheeses you’re using). Mix gently to combine. The texture of the white sauce should be pourable but not runny.

Assemble your lasagna

Generously butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Don’t skip this part. Otherwise, the lasagna noodles will stick to the glass during baking.

Arrange half of the lasagna noodles so that they fill the bottom of the pan. Overlapping them a bit is okay. Spread half of the meat sauce over the noodles. Top the meat sauce with half of the white sauce. Repeat with the remaining noodles, meat sauce and white sauce. Scatter the remaining grated cheddar cheese over the white sauce. Assembly is complete at this point.

Bake the lasagna, uncovered, in a preheated 375oF oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and the sauce along the sides are bubbly.

Allow the lasagna to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Click the thumbnails below for the illustrated step-by-step version of the lasagna with meat sauce recipe.

September 16, 2009  Print This Post   
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Comments

26 Responses to “Lasagna with meat sauce”
  1. Natz San Mateo says:
    September 16, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    WOW! With ingredients like bacon, spicy chorizo and the chive and onion cream cheese, I just couldn’t imagine how this dish could not be DELICIOUS!

    This dish is officially on my birthday menu and most likely even on our Christmas and New Year Menu!

    Thank you Ms. Connie for another SURE WIN recipe that everyone will enjoy.

    P.S.

    In order to save time and effort, I would just love to make two of these so I could freeze the other one for later use. Would you know if these freeze well?

    Reply
  2. nina says:
    September 16, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    I’m planning to bake lasagna using my SIL’s recipe. But I find your white sauce recipe interesting. It’s always good to have options/variations and experiment with different recipes.

    Reply
  3. Maruh says:
    September 16, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    Wow! i will bake this tonight for dinner
    Mmm yummy yummy!!! by the way, i did ur strawberry feather cheese cake and they loved it!! thanks again!!! :)

    Reply
  4. elit says:
    September 16, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    Yehey! Yehey! Yehey! Finally, your lasagna recipe! Thanks Ms. Connie for posting this recipe complete with the step by step thumbnails. Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Now I can now bake lasagna for my hubby :)

    Reply
  5. Alisa says:
    September 17, 2009 at 12:32 am

    Now that is my kind of lasagna!!!Did you use/add more cheese for the topping? I love cheesy pasta! :)

    Reply
  6. Crisma says:
    September 17, 2009 at 10:43 am

    Thanks na naman, Connie! This is my son’s favorite!

    Reply
  7. moseygoh:D says:
    September 17, 2009 at 11:06 am

    wah!:D heheh sounds so yummy:D if my mom cld cook!

    Reply
  8. emyM says:
    September 17, 2009 at 11:54 am

    I haven’t cook lasagna for a long time…my son
    and his tennis team fave.

    I use mozzarella and ricotta cheese but I’d like to try your white sauce.

    Yes,lasagna freezes well.It can be heated in the microwave and taste just the same.

    Reply
    • Natz San Mateo says:
      September 17, 2009 at 12:57 pm

      thanks for the replies regarding my question whether lasagna freezes well.

      Should I freeze my lasagna before or after baking?

      …and another question for the lasagna experts…

      Has anyone tried using RAW noodles instead of pre-cooking them? I heard that this could be done but I have never tried it.

      Reply
      • Connie says:
        September 17, 2009 at 1:22 pm

        Ah the last one I can answer. No-boil lasagna. I used to do that all the time but gave up the practice because of the oven’s power consumption.

        The sauce has to be thin rather than chunky (not soupy though) to allow the noodles to cook. And you have to bake your lasagna covered with foil for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes.

        Reply
      • nina says:
        September 17, 2009 at 3:00 pm

        I am no expert but I freeze lasagna after baking esp if there is too much leftover that cannot consumed within the next 2-3 days :)

        Reply
  9. ruel says:
    September 17, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Ms. Connie, can I use a microwave oven for this?

    Reply
  10. Anna says:
    September 18, 2009 at 5:56 am

    Ms. Connie ,anong klaseng cream ang tinutukoy mo nestle cream ba? cream cheese at nestle cream? Thanks

    Reply
  11. PATRICIA says:
    September 23, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    made this last night and it was a blast. loved the cheesey white sauce and so easy to do. used the sharp cheddar and it really tasted good. thanks for another delicious recipe.

    Reply
  12. isabel says:
    October 5, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    hi connie, i love to cook and im happy that i found you and tnx for sharing your recipe to us.

    Reply
  13. Elena says:
    October 25, 2009 at 2:47 am

    Wish me luck! I am cooking lasagna with raw noodles- in the microwave as it is hot in the kitchen and do not want the regular oven. I added tomato juice- on the side for lquid for the noodles. I had done this years ago with success…….
    Saw an Italian recipe that was facny- but added spinach. will try that next time. Will comment about the results (too much or ok on the tomate juice I added).
    Think it is time to take off the plastic wrap.

    cooked about 20 minutes so far..

    Reply
  14. kay says:
    November 16, 2009 at 3:32 am

    Hi, Connie. Just wondering if this tastes like the filipino-style lasagna like the ones in goldilocks or red ribbon? That’s my favorite dish in both places!

    Thanks,
    Kay

    Reply

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