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My Mother's Cooking - Homemade Lasagna
Homemade Lasagna
What Is the Origin of Lasagna?
My Mother's Lasagna
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Homemade Lasagna
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My mother taught herself how to make lasagna by reading the recipe on a box of packaged lasagna noodles. Like every other recipe that she ever followed, she quickly modified it to suit her own personal taste.
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I learned how to make lasagna from watching my mother make it, and after I left home and went out on my own, I continued to make lasagna quite often since it is easy to make and can be refrigerated or frozen to provide several meals.
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During the years that I have continued to make this dish, I have further modified it to make use of Italian ingredients that were not available to us in the 1950s in North Central Wisconsin.
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When my mother made her lasagna, she used her basic spaghetti sauce, which she made with ground beef and her home canned tomatoes. I like to use a bottle of inexpensive spaghetti sauce and add Italian sausage slices and my own spices.
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My mother couldn’t get ricotta cheese in those days so she probably substituted dry, small-curd cottage cheese. I use ricotta cheese mixed with an egg and chopped parsley. I still use grated Parmesan cheese from a can because I can’t afford eighteen dollars a pound for imported Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Whenever possible, I like to use the ribbed lasagna noodles and I try to undercook them slightly so that they will remain somewhat firm after they are baked.
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Difficulty:
Easy
Preparation Time:
60 Minutes
Cooking Time:
1 Hour at 300 F
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Ingredients for the Sauce:
One Medium Onion peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 16-Oz. Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
3 Cloves of Garlic peeled and finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of Basil
1 Teaspoon of Oregano
1 Teaspoon of Salt
½ Teaspoon of Sugar
Pepper to Taste
1 Lb. of Sweet Italian Sausage boiled, cooled and sliced ¼ inch thick.
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Cooking Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the sliced sausage and the chopped onions and cook them over moderate heat until they start to brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Add the spaghetti sauce and the remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
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Other Ingredients:
1 Lb. of Lasagna noodles
1 Lb. of Mozzarella Cheese sliced 1/8 inch thick
8 Oz. of Ricotta Cheese mixed with one Beaten Egg, one tablespoon of Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley and a little Salt and Pepper
1 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
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Cooking Instructions:
- Boil the lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package but about one minute less to keep them firm. Drain them and rinse them with cold water.
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and set out an 8 inch by 12-inch baking dish that is 3 inches deep.
- Spread 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Then add 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the mozzarella and half of the ricotta mixture.
- Repeat with a second layer.
- Finally add the remaining sauce, lasagna noodles and mozzarella and sprinkle the top evenly with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for one hour at 300 F and serve with some crusty Italian bread and a tossed salad.
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How to Make Lasagna
Links to more of my mother's recipes
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North Central Wisconsin
