Lasagna alla Mike

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About this recipe

In this blog post I will guide you thru the steps and ingredients needed to craft this recipe. Grab your favorite apron and let's start.
Lasagna alla Mike is a mouthwatering Italian dish that is loved by many. This recipe is a delightful combination of layers of tender pasta, rich tomato sauce, savory ground beef, and creamy cheese. It is a classic comfort food that is perfect for family gatherings or cozy dinners at home. The lasagna is baked to perfection, resulting in a golden, bubbly, and irresistible dish.

Keywords: Lasagna, Italian, comfort food, pasta, ground beef.

Lasagna alla mike recipe details

Lasagna alla mike recipe, recipe Rating: 4.5
Number of votes:103

This recipe has been modified over the years from one I found on the back of a box of Creamette(R) Lasagna noodles about 30 years ago. Hope you guys enjoy what I’ve done with it. It’s not that hard to make – it just takes a bit of time,
Ready in: 3 hours 30 mins

Ingredients

Serves: 10

• 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
• 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, diced small
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (NOT sweet basil)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole dried oregano, pulverized AFTER measuring
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 small pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pound lasagna noodles, long
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 6 oz. tub grated Parmesan cheese, separated
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 small pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 (3.8 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

Preparation method

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 2 hours 50 mins | Extra time: 20 mins, resting

1. Thoroughly mix together the sausage and ground beef by hand by repeatedly squeezing fistfulls out between your fingers until the mixture is uniform.
2. In a large, deep, fry pan; heat oil on medium. Add onion and then salt. Sautè till onion is clear. Add garlic and sautè another minute. Add meat and turn up heat to med-high. As meat is cooking, continuously break it up and stir with a wooden spatula, giving you a nice crumble when meat is cooked through. IMPORTANT: DO NOT DRAIN THE JUICE! Add the next 10 ingredients and stir till boiling. Turn heat to low and cover with a splatter guard (not lid) and simmer for 1 hour, stirring up about every 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes before assembling lasagne.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Boil pasta in lightly salted and oiled water till “al dente” in a wide pot, so that you can turn the noodles on their sides. This allows pasta to cook evenly while greatly cutting down on sticking. While pasta is boiling, combine ricotta cheese, egg, 2/3 tub of Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and parsley in a bowl. Mix well with fork. Drain pasta.
5. In a 9x13x2-inch pan, spoon enough sauce to just cover the bottom. Dredge pasta in cooled sauce and lay AROUND the pan on their edges (4 noodles), then layer the bottom (3 noodles). Spoon all of the ricotta mixture over the top of the flat noodles and spread even and smooth. Sprinkle a handfull of mozzarella on top. Make another layer of dredged noodles (3), and top with; 1/2 the sauce, then 1/2 the olives and then 1/2 the mozzarella. Repeat layer, pressing gently and evenly on top layer of pasta to compress and smooth out any high spots. Finally, top with remaining Parmesan. Pat down lightly.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Bake another 20 minutes, until cheese is just lightly browned in spots. Remove from oven. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.Alternate method

A lot of people prefer to use turkey instead of pork and beef. It’ll work, but I recommend trying this out first as written.

Tip

By pulverizing the whole dried oregano you’ll get a better flavor than buying it powdered already. I use a mortar and pestle for this.