- [Chef] It's cheesy,
comforting and indulgent. A truly great lasagna can turn a bad day into a really good one. Here is our recipe for
the ultimate lasagna. (vibrant music) When testing, we wanted to figure out what was really worth spending our time on and where we could take shortcuts but still get the most incredible recipe. The sauce, this is definitely a place where you wanna give it
the most time and love because it is the star of the dish. A lot of recipes call for a bolognese, which is a thick and creamy meat sauce or a marinara, which is actually
just a simple tomato sauce. However, we found a hybrid of the two gave us
something really delicious. For ours, we're using
a combination of meats: half a pound of ground sirloin because it's more tender and
flavorful than ground chuck, half a pound of pork sausage
for complexity and savoriness, and our secret, prosciutto. It adds so much flavor
and keeps the meat tender. We'll combine these in a bowl and shape them into five or
six large shaggy meatballs. We're making them into meatballs so they slowly break down
in the sauce over time, essentially brazing it
to keep it really tender. Then add olive oil to a large
pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot,
we'll brown our meatballs. This just takes about
a minute on each side. Make sure you do this in batches, so you don't overcrowd the pan. Searing the meat locks in moisture, and all those little brown bits at the bottom of the pan will actually give our sauce a ton of flavor. This is called the Maillard reaction. We'll set those aside, reduce the heat, and then we'll add in our onions and salt. Let it cook until it's translucent. It only takes about five or seven minutes. Then we'll add in garlic, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, red pepper flakes, and another one of our
secrets, crushed fennel seeds. These guys make the sauce
pop and offset its richness. I like using fresh herbs just because I think they have more flavor, and they're a lot more aromatic
than their dried variety. I like to crush the fennel
seeds with a mortar and pestle, but if you don't have one,
a knife works great too. Saute these just until fragrant. Oh, my God, it is
smelling so good in here. I just love the smell of that garlic. The next thing we're gonna
do is add tomato paste. It thickens the sauce and
gives it a deep, rich flavor. Make sure to stir this frequently until the color turns a dark red. This usually takes about
three to four minutes. This is about the color we want. Now it's time to deglaze our pan. We're using red wine, because
who doesn't love red wine? But seriously, it has great flavor. You can also use beef stock
or even water if you prefer. You just need some type of liquid to scrape up all those flavorful bits on the bottom of the pan, so they go into your sauce. Cook this until almost all of
the moisture is evaporated. In French cooking, this is called au sec. It's time to add our tomatoes. We're adding both whole San
Marzano tomatoes and passata, which is also known as strained tomatoes. San Marzanos are grown in volcanic ash, which makes them rich,
tender, and not overly acidic. Passata tomatoes are strained
of their seeds and skin, making for a deliciously smooth sauce. We'll add these to the pot. And this next part might sound weird, but we're actually gonna
add a whole carrot. The carrot will absorb
acidity from the tomatoes and add sweetness to the sauce. But don't worry, we'll remove it later. Next, add butter. This is a secret from Italian
legend Marcella Hazan, and we agree. You cannot skip it. It makes for a velvety rich
sauce that cannot be beat. And finally, add in your meatballs and two teaspoons of salt. Bring this to a boil, then
cover and reduce to a simmer. Let it cook for about 1 1/2 to two hours. The longer it cooks, the
more flavor it will develop. Once the sauce has thickened, discard that carrot
and use a potato masher to crush those meatballs
into small pieces. You can season it more to taste here, and if the sauce isn't
sweet enough for you, just add a teaspoon of sugar. Then stir in fresh basil leaves. We like to use fresh because it adds brightness
to the rich sauce. My grandmother always
told me to hand tear it. I have no idea why. But if you're in our family,
you do what Betty says. Now it's time to make the bechamel sauce. We tested making the
lasagna with a ricotta, a bechamel, and even a bechamel ricotta. Ultimately, we liked the creamy
base of the bechamel best because it kept the lasagna moist, and it was super easy to
spread over the noodles. We'll start by melting our
butter until it starts to foam, and then we'll add in our flour. Let's cook this until
we don't see any lumps but the roux hasn't browned yet. This usually takes about three minutes. Now we're gonna slowly add in our milk and keep whisking until
it's evenly incorporated. Then add in the salt, garlic powder and nutmeg
and keep whisking. You'll know it's done
when it's thick enough to coat the back of a
spoon just like this. Now we're gonna turn off the heat so we don't burn our beautiful sauce and stir in parmigiano-reggiano cheese. We like to grate this ourselves because it melts down better in the sauce, and it just has a more pronounced flavor than if you buy the store-bought kind. The nutty sharp flavor of the parmigiano-reggiano compliments the creaminess of the
bechamel just really well. So our bechamel is complete, and there's one last thing
to talk about, noodles. We tested regular store-bought,
oven-ready store-bought, and even made them from scratch. The regular noodles ended up just a little too mushy at the end. From scratch was very, very good but we also found that
the texture just ended up to be a little too soft, and ultimately, it wasn't worth the time. Oven-ready was surprisingly our favorite. We loved it for its texture. It just had more of a bite to it. I know, we were shocked too. A little trick we like to do
is actually soak our noodles in hot water and olive oil for about five to 10 minutes or just until it's softened a tiny bit, where you can bend them just like this. This helps prevent them
from absorbing the sauce when cooking and drying out your lasagna. Now, it's time to build
our beautiful baby. We'll start by greasing our baking dish. This lasagna is big. She's got layers. So your dish should be at
least three inches deep. Our first layer is meat sauce, and this is gonna help the
noodles not stick to the pan. Next, we'll add our noodles. Over those, we'll spread out
an even layer of bechamel, then we'll add a second
layer of meat sauce, followed by fontina and mozzarella cheese. We love this combo because
the fontina's nutty and sharp flavor contrasted really well with the creaminess of the mozzarella. Next, we'll add another layer of noodles, placing them in the opposite
direction as the first layer, so there are no gaps. And finally, another layer of bechamel. Repeat this to make four more layers, ending with a layer of noodles. In my opinion, it's not really a lasagna unless there's at least four layers. We'll top this off with
one more cup of bechamel and dollop more meat sauce on top of that. Scatter the remaining fontina on top, then add fresh mozzarella cheese on top. We love fresh mozzarella
because it gets nice and brown, and it's creamy, and I
don't know, I just like it. You can totally just
use shredded mozzarella. I'm honestly just being extra. Finally add the grated Parmesan on top and cover it with foil. Make sure to coat your
foil with nonstick spray, so the cheese doesn't stick to it. And now, it's time to bake. We'll bake the lasagna for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake it for another 25 to 30 just until the cheese is bubbling, and then let it cool for 20 minutes. We worked so hard, and now it
is time to reward ourselves. We promise you this lasagna will be a hit with your family and friends. Just whip it up on a cozy Sunday afternoon and enjoy leftovers throughout the week. You can find this recipe
and many more on Tasty.co.
