Here is a nice beef lasagna recipe I have tried in my many italian food experimentations.
Please follow layering order; it is nice to have 2 separate cheese layers for presentation.
Ingredients
12 oz. lasagna noodles or about 15 noodles
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb portobello mushrooms, diced (around 3 large portobello mushrooms)
4 cups good marinara sauce; preferably homemade or your favorite from the store:
(marinara sauce recipe)
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 beaten egg,
1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 cup and half mozzarella cheese, grated
Lasagna recipe instructions:
1.Heat oven to 375° degrees F
2.Cook noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and put aside.
3.Heat a large skillet over a medium-high setting.
4.Add beef, cook until brown, breaking it up with a fork into small bits as it cooks,
around 3 minutes.
5.Empty skillet's content (the meat) to a plate, removing any meat fat remaining in pan.
6.Put oil back in same skillet, heat over a medium-high heat.
7.Put mushrooms in, cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms brown and
their liquid has evaporated,, for around 5 minutes.
8.Put meat back in skillet.
9.Mix in 2 cups of marinara sauce, let it simmer about 2 minutes. This is our meat sauce preparation.
10.In a large bowl mix together the beaten egg, the ricotta cheese, 1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp nutmeg. This is our ricotta preparation;
We are now ready to start layering our lasagna:
11.Spread 1 thin layer of meat sauce on bottom of a large lasagna dish. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, touching but never overlapping.
12.Spread half of ricotta preparation over noodles.
13.Place another layer of noodles on top of ricotta.
14.Top with meast sauce preparation.
15.Repeat with another layer of noodles, then the remaining ricotta preparation, more noodles, then what is left of meat sauce,
finally 1 last layer of noodles.
16.Top last layer of noodles with all meat sauce that is left, sprinkle with grated mozzarella.
17.Bake in oven at 350°, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until cheese is nice and browned.
Et voilà, take lasagna out of the oven...
Allow a good 20 minutes to let it cool down before serving.