#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.

#12 Ricotta Cheese

I have an update on my #5 post of making yogurt, in case you wanted to check that out. It's here.

Ok onto my next recipe, ricotta cheese. Yesterday lasagna was on the menu, so I thought it would be super fun to try the recipe for making homemade ricotta cheese. It is my goal to someday be able to make lasagna almost entirely homemade....we are talking, noodles, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and ricotta. But one at a time for now!

Ricotta
1/2 gallon whole milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice- 1 1/2 - 2 lemons
1/2 heavy cream (optional)
kosher or sea salt to taste (optional)

First you need to ice the bottom of your pot, like I described here. Then I used my handy, dandy wood reamer to extract the juice of my lemons. My lemons were small and I was able to get 1/3 cup from 1 1/2 lemons.

Then measure out your ingredients. I decided to use the 1/2 cup cream...what the heck, right! Add them to your pot. Stir for 5 seconds without touching the bottom of your pot.

 

Place your pot over low heat, with your candy thermometer and heat milk mixture to 175 degrees. This should take 40-50 minutes.

 

 

During this time your milk will start to curd and separate...this is a good thing. You can stir once or twice while it is reaching for 175 degrees.

 

As soon as it reaches 175, you will raise the heat to medium high and watch the temperature as it rises to 205 degrees without stirring. It will take 3-5 minutes. The surface will look like moulten lava about to erupt...really fun to watch, but it should not boil.

 

 

Once it reaches 205 degrees, remove from the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. You now have curds and whey. Meanwhile, lay a double layer of damp cheesecloth over a fine mesh sieve.

Using a large slotted spoon, scoop your curds into the cheesecloth. Let the cheese drain for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt if you like.

 







 

And now you can use your 1 1/2 cups of ricotta for your recipe...like lasagna:)

 

 

This is the whey that you will be left with. Do not throw it out. Use it within 2 weeks in place of water in your soup,  bread or corn bread recipes, or in place of milk in smoothies...it's packed with protein, flavor and nutrition. You can freeze it too...for up to 6 months.

 

So is it worth it? I must say it is a bit of work for a small amount of ricotta, but it was sooo good in my lasagna and the hubs and kiddos loved it! So creamy...excellent. Can't wait to try it again when I make my way toward COMPLETELY homemade lasagna!