#42 Lasagna

Now the big moment is here....an almost completely homemade pan of lasagna..

Lasagna

12 oz. ground beef
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 quart jar of cooked-down tomatoes (I will blog my canned tomatoes this summer)
1 Tsp. italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. sugar
Homemade pasta dough
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
Homemade ricotta
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese- grated
Homemade fresh mozarella- sliced
Grated parmesan

1. First make your ricotta.....the process is here!

2. Next make your mozarella...the process is here!

3. Next make your sauce....brown the ground beef along with the onion and garlic. Add in your one quart of home-canned tomatoes, sauce and paste. Add the italian seasoning and sugar. Stir together well over heat and then set aside.

 

4. Next make your filling...stir together homemade ricotta, beaten {backyard} egg, 1/4 cup of parmesan and parsley. And set aside.



5. Make your pasta dough...that is here!

6. Lay your fresh pasta directly in the 9x13 lasagna pan, but before you do, spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. I like to use a glass Pyrex.

*I did not spread the layer of sauce down before that first layer of fresh pasta and I regretted that later.

7. Next spread half of the ricotta filling over the pasta.

8. Follow that will half of the meat sauce and then half of the sliced mozzarella.

9. Repeat with layer of pasta, ricotta filling, sauce then mozarella. And finish with a sprinkling of parmesan.

10. Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Here it is.....sure looks yummy!

And serve with a piece of garlic toast made with homemade bread!

So what is the verdict...was it the best lasagna I have ever eaten?????...Well no, not exactly. I was disappointed. The bottom layer of pasta was dry and tasted more like a flour crust. The second layer of pasta tasted much more like a noodle, so I think it would have been much better if I added that layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Which is why I added that step in the directions. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty tasty otherwise. Will I be making homemade, homemade, lasagna again? Not until I get a pasta roller! Because homemade pasta really needs to be thinned to a thickness that is hard to achieve with a rolling pin.

#41 Pasta Dough

Another step in the homemade lasagna journey...pasta dough. I decided to go ahead and give the pasta dough a whirl, even though I do not have a pasta machine. I thought that lasagna noodles didn't have to be super thin anyway.

Pasta Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs

1. Scoop the flour onto the counter and shape it into a volcano.

 

Break the eggs into a bowl, pour them into the center of the volcano. Oh....did I mention that my beautiful eggs are home grown too.

Then beat eggs with a fork, just incorporating the yolk and the whites. Use the fork to gently mix the flour into the egg mixture working from the center out, maintaining the wall of the volcano as the center hole gets bigger. Don't be afraid of errant egg skating across the counter- just guide it back to the mix.

 

When the egg is thoroughly incorporated, push the dough together into a ball and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap while you clean your hands and your work surface.

Mine was a little dry and it would not come together, so I wet my hands with water and just that little bit of water helped it come together. Unwrap the dough and place on a clean counter and begin kneading it.  Vigorously push the dough down and away from you with one hand and fold it over with the other for about 5 minutes or until dough has a smooth surface.

 

Cut the dough into 6 pieces and shape into balls. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

If you are using a pasta roller ,follow your machine's instructions. If using a rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough, one at a time. To mimic the gradual thinning of the pasta roller, first roll to one thickness, then thinner, then thinner until 1/16 of an inch. Cut to your preferred shape. I left mine in big sheets for the lasagna. You do not need to boil the pasta first when making lasagna.

 

 

If you are not using right away, hang pasta to dry until ready to cook, at least 5 minutes, up to 2 hours. Make sure the pieces of pasta do not touch as they dry, or they will stick together.

You can keep pasta dough wrapped in plastic in the fridge for 2 days. Dried pasta wrapped into small nests, covered container for 2 days. In the freezer, first dry at room temp for 1 hour, then place in freezer bag up to 3 months- cook right from the freezer.