Tasty Tuesday - Giada's Classic Italian Lasagna

My parents came to visit on their way to the coast this weekend and my Mom made Giada's lasagna for us. It is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!! I love when my Mom cooks us food! It was so nice to come home from work and pop it in the oven! I highly recommend that you try it with a little red vino!

Giada De Laurentiis 

Classic Italian Lasagna

recipe here

Ingredients:

Simple Tomato Sauce ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes 2 dried bay leaves 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

Lasagna ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound ground chuck beef salt and pepper 1 ½ pounds ricotta cheese 3 large eggs 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 3 cups shredded mozzarella ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

instructions

Simple Tomato Sauce In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.  Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.  If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Lasagna Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.  In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks Mom!!!