Lasagna
I have made Lasagna many ways but this one is the new favorite. The shells on top do not get hard in the oven. This particular sauce has a sweetness to it which is kind to those of us that suffer from heartburn.
I have made Lasagna many ways but this one is the new favorite. The shells on top do not get hard in the oven. This particular sauce has a sweetness to it which is kind to those of us that suffer from heartburn.
- 1 egg
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 package barilla oven ready lasagna
- 45 oz francesco rinaldi sauce-chunky garden
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1tsp each meat/cheese
- basil fresh or dried/to taste
- 1 tablespoon parsley fresh or dried
- Carbohydrate 6.11414222652167 g
- Cholesterol 188.260731572732 mg
- Fat 43.1652187320543 g
- Fiber 0.178362495221361 g
- Protein 48.2481866802013 g
- Saturated Fat 22.8750015984087 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (421g)
- Sodium 865.3573641385 mg
- Sugar 5.93577973130031 g
- Trans Fat 4.26480126021554 g
- Calories 612 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown ground beef, season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder. Drain.
- In a small bowl mix (w/hand mixer) Ricotta, egg, oregano, basil, parsley. Set aside.
- Line the bottom of a 13x9 glass baking pan with non stick foil, spread 1 cup of the sauce on bottom of pan. Reserve another cup of sauce.
- Pour the remaining sauce on the ground beef and heat through.
- Place 3 lasagna shells in baking dish. There WILL be space in between shells.
- Use about half of the ricotta mixture and spread on top of the shells only.
- Layer the ground beef mixture on top of the shells only.
- Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat steps 1, 2, 3, 4, then 1 again.
- Top Lasagna with reserved 1 cup of sauce covering the shells ONLY and completely.
- Cover with foil. (I use non stick)
- Bake: @375 for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving. This will ensure that your lasagna will not "run".
Allowing the baked pan to rest for precisely 15 minutes before portioning transforms what would otherwise be a watery collapse into clean, structured squares. Skeptics who have watched sloppy pasta layers slide apart across a serving platter know that thermal inertia plays a vital role here, because starches need time to retrograde and trap escaping moisture as temperatures drop below boiling. Without this deliberate pause, cutting immediately releases free liquid from the ricotta and sauce into the surrounding space. Recognizing how traditional Italian home cooks balance liquid reduction with pasta hydration helps clarify why oven-ready noodles require complete sauce coverage to soften properly without becoming leathery.
The Mechanics of Pasta Hydration
Using dry, pre-formed sheets without prior boiling relies entirely on surrounding free water to gelatinize starches during baking. Oven-ready varieties absorb significantly more liquid than traditional boiled pasta, which demands an accurate ratio of sauce volume to noodle surface area. Covering the glass baking dish tightly with aluminum foil traps steam throughout the initial 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, creating a pressurized humid environment that cooks the pasta evenly from edge to center. Uncovering the dish for the final 5 minutes allows excess surface moisture to evaporate while browning the mozzarella layer.
- Check doneness by piercing the center with a thin metal skewer to ensure no resistance from hard pasta cores remains.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, reheating individual portions until steaming.
- Substitute low-moisture part-skim mozzarella if excess grease pooling on top during the bake becomes a persistent issue.
