Okay, so I finally decided to tackle that America’s Test Kitchen lasagna recipe I’ve heard so much about. Figured it was time to see if it lived up to the hype.
Getting Started – Prep Work
First things first, I got all my ingredients out on the counter. Lots of stuff. Ground beef, Italian sausage, onions, garlic, cans of tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, parsley, and those lasagna noodles. ATK recipes usually have a long list, this one was no different.
I started by chopping up the onion and mincing the garlic. Standard stuff. Then, I got a big pot heating up on the stove. Threw in the beef and sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooked. Gotta get it nicely browned. Once it was cooked through, I tilted the pot and spooned out most of the grease. Always feels good getting rid of that excess fat.
Making the Meaty Sauce
Into the pot with the meat went the chopped onion and garlic. Stirred that around for a few minutes until the onion got soft and translucent. Smelled pretty good already. Then, I dumped in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, some water, and the herbs – basil, oregano, you know the drill. Gave it a good stir, brought it to a simmer, then turned the heat down low. Put the lid on slightly askew and just let it bubble away gently for about an hour. Checked on it now and then, gave it a stir. The sauce got nice and thick.
The Cheese Filling
While the sauce was doing its thing, I mixed up the cheese filling. In a bowl, I combined the ricotta cheese, a couple of eggs, grated Parmesan, chopped fresh parsley, salt, and pepper. Mixed it all together until it was smooth. Took a tiny taste just to check the seasoning – pretty important step, I think.
Noodles and Assembly
Now, for the noodles. The ATK recipe I used had a specific way for no-boil noodles. Instead of just layering them dry, I had to soak them in hot tap water for about 5 minutes while I got everything else ready. Laid them out on towels after soaking so they weren’t dripping wet. Felt a bit fussy, but I stuck to the plan.
Assembly time! Grabbed my big baking dish. Here’s how it went down:
- Spread a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the dish.
- Placed a layer of the soaked noodles over the sauce.
- Dolloped and spread about half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
- Sprinkled a layer of shredded mozzarella and some Parmesan.
- Added another layer of meat sauce.
- Repeated with noodles, the rest of the ricotta mixture, mozzarella, Parmesan, and more sauce.
- Finished with a final layer of noodles, the remaining meat sauce, and a good blanket of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
It was a pretty full dish by the end!
Baking and the Hardest Part – Waiting
Covered the whole thing tightly with aluminum foil. Popped it into a preheated oven. Let it bake covered for a while, then took the foil off for the last chunk of baking time. You want the top to get all bubbly and golden brown, edges too. The cheese should be completely melted and gooey.
Pulled it out of the oven, and man, it looked and smelled fantastic. Now came the torture: ATK insists you let lasagna rest for a good 20-30 minutes before cutting into it. This is key! Seriously, if you cut it too soon, it just oozes everywhere and falls apart. So, I waited, impatiently.
The Result
Finally, time to cut and serve. It held its shape pretty well, thanks to the resting time. The layers looked distinct. Took a bite… and yeah, it was really good. Rich, meaty sauce, creamy cheese filling, perfectly cooked noodles. Definitely a solid lasagna. Was it complicated? A bit, lots of steps. Worth it? For a special occasion or a weekend project, absolutely. It made a ton, so leftovers were great too. A successful kitchen adventure, I’d say.
