Homemade Lasagna

Welcome to my take on how to make a fantastic lasagna.  As this is one of my top five favorite entrees, I've spent a lot of time thinking about different ways to make it and experimenting with ingredients.

There are two main differences between this lasagna and most peoples' recipes.  First, I tend to pile on the veggies, without making it a vegetarian dish.  I find that ground beef adds great flavor, but you really need lots of vegetables to balance it.

Secondly, I spent years making a full cake pan sized lasagna, only to have the family get tired of the same leftovers for the next several days.  The solution?  Smaller pans and more of them!

Let's get started!

Step 1: What You'll Need

First off, the tools:

• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Large pot
• Large skillet
• Garlic press
• Two stirring spoons (one for the sauce, one for the noodles)
• Four bread pans

Next, the ingredients:

• Lasagna noodles
• 1/2 pound ground beef (don't get the lean, you want fatty for this!)
• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 smallish head of broccoli
• 1 medium to large yellow onion
• Lots of mushrooms (I don't have an exact measurement here, maybe 3/4-1 pound?)
• One whole garlic (head? clove? what's it called?)
• 1 bag of spinach
• Tomato sauce (about a quart)
• 1 32 oz tub of low fat cottage cheese
• About a pound of your favorite cheese (I like a mix of mozz, cheddar, and parm)
• Spices of your liking (I use salt, pepper, and generic "Italian seasoning" mix, though I'll throw in some fresh basil if I have it)

Once you've got that together, let's make some lasagna!

Comments

[marymac]

How about a version that leaves out the pasta? I don't care to fuss with the pasta and replaced it with thin enough slices of eggplant in one try. Not a bad idea. Not officially "lasagna".

[depotdevoid]

I'm totally with you, but my family hates eggplant! We did it once, where I used fairly thick slices of eggplant in place of pasta. They soaked up all the juices and it was magically delicious . . . to me anyway. I've been informed that I'm a weirdo, and eggplant is disgusting.

[smav]

oh, I'm sure that's good, but this is not a lasagna :)
I'm Italian, i know what I'm talkin' about...
We call this kind of plates "pasta pasticciata" or "pasticcio".

Anyway I'll try it! ;)

[Computothought]

I would agree also, That is not the traditional lasagna I grew up with here in America. This instructable looks very healthy and tasty, but more like pasta strata or pie. Then again I have seen Maria Esposito of "Ciao, Italia" fame call layered polenta as lasagna. I am also of Italian/Sicilian ancestry.

[depotdevoid]

I suppose I should specify that it's "American Lasagna." This is one of those things we do here, where we refer to a traditional foreign dish by it's original name (or by the type of pasta in it), even though it's been changed from what it originally was by translation into our culture. We're particularly bad about it when it comes to Italian food. I've seen Italian pizza and American pizza, and there's very little relation between the two!

What is real Italian lasagna like? Is lasagna just the name for the noodles?

[smav]

Ehehe ok, so your American Lasagna is on my things-to-do list :)

I've never been in America, so I can't compare your and our dishes.

Noodles in italian are Tagliatelle; Lasagna is a particular shape of pasta, like a sheet.

For our lasagna we use bechamel (besciamella) -do you know how to make it? it's simple-, ragout (ragù) made with tomatoes and ground beef, lasagna pasta and parmesan.

You put bechamel first, then a sheet of lasagna, then ragout, bechamel and parmesan. Do three or four layers like this, then cover with a lot of grated parmesan and butter curls, then put in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 180°C.

Sorry for my english, I hope you understand all.. if not, tell me please :D

Bye from Milan :D

[depotdevoid]

No, your English is fine, a lot better than my Italian! I tried to google search for traditional Italian lasagna and I couldn't find anything, but when I put "Bechamel" in, one of the first results looked just like what you're describing.

That sounds really good, I've put it on my own things to do list!

Thanks and bye from Oregon.

[smav]

ehehe ok.. so I've found my next instructable to publish!!

[mikeasaurus]

mmm lasagna, my favourite!

[depotdevoid]

It usually falls at about number 3 for me, below fettuccine alfredo and london broil, but it has to vie for position with grilled cheese and tomato soup.

[Screamo]

No no no, even if you are trying to loose weigh, meat and veggies taste like crap togethr :(

[Screamo]

More meat and cheese, and take away all the vegetables //.o

[depotdevoid]

I agree with the more cheese bit--I'm supposed to be losing about 50 pounds though, so I should limit myself. But I'm telling you, the veggies make all the difference, you really notice the beef and cooking the vegetables with the ground beef makes their own flavors fantastic!