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Really, you can’t beat the classics.
Classics are always good and most people love them. They never disappoint.
This is the story of the way I make lasagna through photos. Be prepared, there are lots of photos, but I think you guys will find them helpful.
When I make lasagna I always, always, make my own pasta. To me it is easier than boiling a pot of water, draining and messing with dried lasagna sheets.
Of course, I do have a stand mixer that pretty much does all the work for me. If I had to do it by hand I might be singing a different tune. If you are not into the homemade pasta feel free to swap in dried lasagna noodles.
You can definitely make pasta by hand, I even included directions on how to do this. But I am not going to lie, I personally think using a mixer makes life so much easier.
So I took lots of photos to help you guys out. I promise though, it is pretty easy, especially once you get the hang of it. For me now, I don’t even think about, I just do it.
The dough comes together in minutes, then rolling it out is simple.
I use this KitchenAid attachment for my stand mixer and I LOVE it. I used to have one that attached to the counter, but this is so much easier. It stays still and the mixer does all the cranking for you. Yes!
Ok, and now the sauce. the sauce simmers for at least two hours, but if you can, let it simmer all day and then place it in the fridge overnight. This makes for the best sauce. It allows the flavors to settle and get all delicious.
Plus, it makes the whole process of making lasagna a lot less daunting.
The way I like to make my lasagna is to make the sauce, let it simmer all day and then place it in the fridge overnight.
And then I place it all back in the fridge. Again.
And then the next day I bake.
I know it seems like a process, but I have found this is the easiest way to do it. However, you can completely skip all the overnight fridge time and make this in one day, but it is still a process. It is lasagna, not chicken and rice.
My family absolutely loves this lasagna. Everyone eats it (yes, I mean the whole family, which if you read regularly, you know this is a big deal!), and the leftovers. Later they wish there were more leftovers.
It is a great thing.
Unlike most lasagna, I use a mixture of spicy ground italian chicken sausage and ground chicken. You can use beef if you like, but I love a little spice.
1. To make the dough using a stand mixer. Add the flour and eggs to the bowl and knead the dough, using the dough hook on medium speed until the dough comes together and forms a ball. If your dough seems dry add water 1 teaspoon at a time, being careful not to add too much water. I add 4-6 teaspoons. The dough should be moist, but not too sticky. If you add too much water just add a teaspoon of flour at a time to balance it out. 2. To make the dough by hand. Mix the eggs into the flour in a bowl usuing your hands until a shaggy dough forms. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough with your hands until firm and smooth, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball. 3. Divide the dough into four balls and place each ball in a sandwich bag.
Lasagna
Make the sauce. In a heavy bottomed pot, cook 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the pancetta over medium heat, stirring, until the pancetta is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring, until the veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. Push the veggies off to the side of the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the center of the pan and crumble in the ground sausage, ground chicken or ground beef. Cook without stirring for 3 minutes and then begin breaking up the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, parsley and thyme. Cook another minute or so.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 cups water, 1 cup milk, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot. Cover the pot and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 2-3 hours. If the sauce seems too watery after 2 hours remove the lid and simmer until thickened. Discard the bay leaf, taste to season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. At this point the sauce can be placed in the fridge overnight or up to 3 days. You may also freeze the sauce.
Quarter the dough and shape into 4 balls. Place each ball in a sandwich bag. Set aside.
To assemble the lasagna grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. If baking the lasagna right away Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Spoon a little of the red sauce over the bottom of the dish. Grab 1 ball of pasta dough and flatten the dough. Lightly dust the dough with flour, brushing off excess. Set a pasta machine to the widest setting; run the dough through. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, then run it through again, short end first. Run it through 2 more times, dusting with flour if it seems too sticky. Now switch to the 2nd setting and roll all the dough sheets through the machine again. Switch to the 3rd setting and roll the sheets through again. Switch to the 4th setting and roll the sheets through again. Now switch to the 5th setting and roll the sheet through the machine one last time. All machines vary, but I find I like the 5th setting for lasagna sheets. Generally, when you see your hand through the pasta sheet, it’s thin enough to cut.
Cut the sheet of dough to fit inside your dish. I can normally get 2 long and wide noodles + enough extra dough on the ends to fully make one layer of pasta cover the bottom of the pan. If this is not the case just form the extra dough into a ball and roll it out again. Fit into the pan where it is needed.
Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover the the lasagna. At this point the lasagna can be placed in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen.
Bake, covered for 1 hour and then uncovered for 15 minutes more. Let stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing. If your lasagna was cold bake, covered for 15-30 minutes longer.
If the noodles are dried I would boil them until al dente. If you are using fresh pasta, leave them un-boiled. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this!
Wahoo !!! This recipe look so great ! I just finished posting my own lasagna recipe, on wich I work on for 3 years. But you taught me I haven’t learnt evrything yet. Great advices, thanks, next time I try Pancetta, simmering the sauce for a day, and home made pasta !
This is SO beautiful! It reminds me of how my grandmother made hers…she made her own pasta too and this looks so similar with that awesome cheesy and bubbly top! Lovely.
I made this recipe tonight and it is officially my new favorite lasagna recipe. Everything about this lasagna was perfect and everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe didn’t work for me at all, it ended up as a tasty lasagna soup. Thank goodness it was tasty because otherwise it would have been a complete waste of money and time. Sorry, this was way too much liquid and a disappointment for my lasagna craving house. I’ll stick to recipes that use ricotta and have some kind of binder to them so they don’t end up being eaten out of a bowl with a spoon.
Made this yesterday, baked it up for dinner tonight and everyone LOVED it. We even did the homemade noodles with our KitchenAid attachment like you suggested.
Thanks for such a great recipe!! 🙂
This looks and sounds amazing! I’m not usually into lasagna because of the beef, but I’m excited about yours having sausage and chicken instead. Also, I JUST got the pasta attachment for my mixer yesterday for Christmas so I will definitely have to try this!
ciao ,sono Roberta e abito a San Marino (in Italy). la foto delle tue lasagne mi ha attirato perchè anche io le faccio. ti scrivo perchè volevo togliermi un dubbio che ho sulla tua ricetta,
noi italiani la pasta una volta tirata la scottiamo per pochi secondi in acqua bollente e poi subito dopo la buttiamo in una ciotola di acqua fredda per poi mettere la spoglia cotta e raffreddata su un telo di cotone da cucina e asciugata con un’altro telo sopra, poi fatto questo la mettiamo in casseruola con sugo e besciamella. Ecco , qui in tutta l’Italia facciamo così : la spoglia la cuociamo, voi in vece la mettete cruda ! comunque complimenti !
This looks absolutely wonderful, especially since I’ve been craving lasagna lately. I’d even consider a glass of pomegranate juice in lieu of red wine, if I could have just one piece of this! 😉
This lasagna is to die for!!! I love that you make your own pasta and took the time to show us all how!! You take the intimidating factor out of it for sure!!!!!
Sometimes simplicity is the best, and this proves it! Looks amazing! need to stop reading blogs after dinner and after midnight, gosh I’m hungry. I make fresh pasta all the time, but I’ve yet to make it for lasagna, I don’t know why the thought has never crossed my mind!
If I use premade noodles (sorry), would I cook them and then put the lasagna together or leave them uncooked when assembling?
If the noodles are dried I would boil them until al dente. If you are using fresh pasta, leave them un-boiled. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this!
Wahoo !!! This recipe look so great ! I just finished posting my own lasagna recipe, on wich I work on for 3 years. But you taught me I haven’t learnt evrything yet. Great advices, thanks, next time I try Pancetta, simmering the sauce for a day, and home made pasta !
http://foodyfoodfooda.tumblr.com/post/94281928225/lasagna-garfield-style
Thanks so much, Max!! Your lasagna looks great!
I’m not a fan of using canned tomatoes or tomato paste if I can avoid it, do you think this would work with some diced up ripe tomatoes instead?
Hey Ethan, I do think it would work, but you may need to add more liquid. Not sure exactly how the consistency would be. Let me know how it goes!
This is SO beautiful! It reminds me of how my grandmother made hers…she made her own pasta too and this looks so similar with that awesome cheesy and bubbly top! Lovely.
Thank you so much, Caroline!
That looks delicious would go great with some focaccia.
Thank you!
I made this recipe tonight and it is officially my new favorite lasagna recipe. Everything about this lasagna was perfect and everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
Ya!! So happy you loved it! Thanks Michaela!
This recipe didn’t work for me at all, it ended up as a tasty lasagna soup. Thank goodness it was tasty because otherwise it would have been a complete waste of money and time. Sorry, this was way too much liquid and a disappointment for my lasagna craving house. I’ll stick to recipes that use ricotta and have some kind of binder to them so they don’t end up being eaten out of a bowl with a spoon.
Hey Rachel,
I am really sorry it did not work out for you. May I ask hoe long you cooked the sauce for? Was it thick when you layered the noodles?
Again, really sorry it did not work for you!
Made this yesterday, baked it up for dinner tonight and everyone LOVED it. We even did the homemade noodles with our KitchenAid attachment like you suggested.
Thanks for such a great recipe!! 🙂
YAY!! So excited you loved this!! Thanks for making it and Happy New Year!
This looks and sounds amazing! I’m not usually into lasagna because of the beef, but I’m excited about yours having sausage and chicken instead. Also, I JUST got the pasta attachment for my mixer yesterday for Christmas so I will definitely have to try this!
Oh ya!! A pasta attachment is such an awesome gift!!
Thanks Sara! Hope you love this and Merry Christmas!!! 🙂
ciao ,sono Roberta e abito a San Marino (in Italy). la foto delle tue lasagne mi ha attirato perchè anche io le faccio. ti scrivo perchè volevo togliermi un dubbio che ho sulla tua ricetta,
noi italiani la pasta una volta tirata la scottiamo per pochi secondi in acqua bollente e poi subito dopo la buttiamo in una ciotola di acqua fredda per poi mettere la spoglia cotta e raffreddata su un telo di cotone da cucina e asciugata con un’altro telo sopra, poi fatto questo la mettiamo in casseruola con sugo e besciamella. Ecco , qui in tutta l’Italia facciamo così : la spoglia la cuociamo, voi in vece la mettete cruda ! comunque complimenti !
This looks absolutely wonderful, especially since I’ve been craving lasagna lately. I’d even consider a glass of pomegranate juice in lieu of red wine, if I could have just one piece of this! 😉
Haha! Thanks Brenda!! I am sure you make one amazing Lasagna!
This lasagna is to die for!!! I love that you make your own pasta and took the time to show us all how!! You take the intimidating factor out of it for sure!!!!!
Thanks Renee!
Uh, nothing about this is easy. False advertising by Pinterest.
This is comfort food at its finest! I have never made my own noodles before.
Sometimes simplicity is the best, and this proves it! Looks amazing! need to stop reading blogs after dinner and after midnight, gosh I’m hungry. I make fresh pasta all the time, but I’ve yet to make it for lasagna, I don’t know why the thought has never crossed my mind!