Grandma’s Lasagna

Ingredients

• For the Sauce

• 60 mlextra-virgin olive oil
• 225 gground beef chuck
• 225 gground sirloin
• 4 tspminced garlic
• 1/2 tspdried oregano, crumbled
• 1/4 tspcrushed red pepper
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2 cansItalian peeled tomatoes (finely chopped, juices reserved)
• 1 cantomato puree
• 480 mlchicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs, tied together with kitchen string
• Pinch sugar
• To taste Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the Filling & Layers

• 680 gsweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 900 gfresh ricotta
• 60 mlfinely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbspfinely chopped basil
• 50 gfreshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 450 gwhole-milk mozzarella, shredded (about 700 ml volume), divided
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 12 dried lasagna sheets

Instructions

1. Make the sauce

2. 1

   In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chuck and sirloin and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the meat into large chunks, until no pink remains.

3. 2

   Add the garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper to the beef and cook until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until the meat is coated.

4. 3

   Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices, tomato puree, chicken stock, bay leaves, thyme, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to roughly 1.9 liters (about 1 1/2 hours). Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

5. Prepare the filling and components

6. 4

   Meanwhile, heat a large skillet. Add the sausage meat in large pieces and cook over moderately high heat until browned and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain the sausage and break it into roughly 1.5 cm pieces.

7. 5

   In a large bowl, combine the ricotta with the parsley, basil, and half of the Parmesan (25 g). Add two-thirds of the shredded mozzarella (300 g) and season with salt and pepper. Beat in the egg.

8. 6

   Cook the lasagna sheets in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain the sheets and rinse under cold water. Dry them thoroughly between layers of paper towels.

9. Assemble and bake

10. 7

    Preheat the oven to 190°C. Use a 23 x 33 cm baking dish. Spread 240 ml of the meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.

11. 8

    Line the dish with 4 overlapping lasagna sheets. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the sheets. Top with half of the cooked sausage, 350 ml of the meat sauce, and another 4 sheets.

12. 9

    Repeat with the remaining ricotta, remaining sausage, and another 350 ml of sauce.

13. 10

    Top with the final 4 lasagna sheets and cover with 350 ml of sauce. Toss the remaining mozzarella (150 g) with the remaining Parmesan (25 g) and sprinkle it evenly over the top.

14. 11

    Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and crisp around the edges and the filling is bubbling. Let the lasagna rest for 20 minutes before slicing.