Los Angeles, Ca, October 9th, What makes a really good lasagna? Perfectly cooked flat wide pasta noodles, great tomato sauce and a delicious mozzarella cheese or creamy béchamel sauce (thickened milk and cheese sauce). Each of these components blended together will make your lasagna a great layered baked meal for the end of the day.
My friend Kim Seeley inspired this recipe. She is an AMAZING chef and when we were cooking together she made this lasagna that made my mouth water. Each layer was thick with cheese, tomato sauce and meat. The top was the perfect combination of crispy brown and gooey white cheese. Thus this recipe was inspired.
Lasagna goes really well with our simple garden salad recipe and a crunchy baguette or softer-ciabatta bread.
A few tricks to making your lasagna easier:
- Use a really large pot of water to cook your noodles and cook a few at a time.
- If you use ready bake lasagna noodles make sure there is more liquid in the pan than even the directions say. If there isn’t enough the noodles won’t be tender and soft.
- Allow your lasagna to cool for around 20 minutes before you cut it to allow the cheese to set.
- Brown your ground beef to give it an extra layer of flavor or add a spicy sausage out of the casing to give your lasagna a kick.
- Homemade tomato sauce is always a great add. However fresh tomatoes are not necessary. Try using a great canned tomato sauce like San Marzano tomatoes and add fresh basil, dried oregano and garlic.
Before we forget here is the link to our traditional lasagna recipe and our end of summer (fall) lasagna recipe. Both are great but very different.
