Calling all lasagna lovers!
Fast forward to yesterday. I was eating leftovers of this and watching Emily in Paris. I know there are mixed reviews for this Netflix series but, I personally loved it. If you knew me, you would know that I am OBSESSED with anything to do with Paris and Eiffel tower so this was a shoo-in. Asides from the setting which I already loved, the addition of the gorgeous sweet-natured Emily and her bright ever-changing wardrobe made it completely binge-worthy! Throw in a dreamy neighbour, Gabriel, who happens to be *GASP* a chef with a dream to open his own restaurant. It did make me wonder how I never got so lucky to have such neighbours ever?? I mean I can do with some eye candy an omelette or 2.
Anyways since there is no Gabriel in my building, I consoled myself with a pan of this creamy lasagna. Good food is always a consolation, right? Especially layers of saucy beefy tomato, the tanginess entwined with the lovely creamy ricotta, nestled in sheets of lasagna pasta. Rustic comfort food.
I am used to making lasagna with a béchamel sauce and I am glad to give the ricotta version a try this time around. It did mean that the dish lesser time to put together since I did not have to spend time on making the béchamel sauce and turned out this version resulted in a richer, creamier lasagna.
One of my favourite things about lasagna is that you can play with the recipe. You can use chicken instead of beef or even go meatless. You can also sneak in some veggies in there. I added some peppers but eggplant would be good too. An amazing do-ahead and freezer-friendly too!
I personally loved this Easy Lasagna Recipe. Now, it’s your turn! You know you deserve a warm pan of cheesy creamy, tomato-saucy comfort food. #dreamy. ❤
- 9 lasagna noodles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 400g ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic, grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 x 400g can diced/crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 5 sundried tomatoes, chopped (optional)
- 400g whole milk ricotta
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- A sprig of fresh basil (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly oil a baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for 2-3 minutes
- Add grated garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Mix in ground beef and cook until beef has browned for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Stir in tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, peppers, butter and Italian seasoning until well combined.
- Season with salt and pepper and and cook for about 15 minutes till sauce thickens up nicely,
- Finally add the parsley and set this aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella and egg. Set aside.
- Spread ½ cup tomato mixture onto the bottom of a baking dish; top with 3 lasagna noodles, ½ of the ricotta cheese mixture and ½ cup mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the layers till finish. Finish off the last layer with the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle some parmesan.
- Place into oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden.
- Let cool 15 minutes. Serve, garnished with parsley/basil, if desired.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to see your creations let me know by snapping a pic and tagging @mayakitchenette on Instagram.
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