Classic Meat Lasagna

SERVES 8 • TO PREP 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES • STORE 8 TO 24 HOURS • TO FINISH 1½ HOURS

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: With all of the components that go into a great lasagna, making it can be a labor-intensive endeavor, but that also makes it the ideal make-ahead dish. We started our testing by simply assembling our favorite lasagna recipe and refrigerating it overnight. While rich and cheesy, this version baked up a bit too dry the next day. In the test kitchen, we prefer no-boil lasagna noodles, but we found that the secret to getting perfectly tender no-boil noodles is to leave your tomato sauce a little on the watery side, especially when refrigerating the lasagna overnight. Because no-boil noodles rely primarily on the liquid in the sauce to rehydrate and soften, we had to get the moisture content just right. If the sauce was too thick, the noodles would be dry and crunchy; too loose, and they would turn limp. We started building the sauce with pureed tomatoes, but tasters found that this sauce was too heavy and overwhelmed the other flavors. Using all diced tomatoes yielded too thin a sauce, but a combination of pureed and diced tomatoes gave us a luxurious sauce with chunks of tomatoes. We added the tomatoes to browned meatloaf mix and simmered it to meld the flavors. In about 15 minutes, the sauce was just the right consistency. We found that it was important to cool the sauce before assembling the lasagna so the noodles didn’t overcook before they reached the oven. Meatloaf mix is a prepackaged mix of ground beef, pork, and veal; if it’s unavailable, use 8 ounces each of ground pork and 85 percent lean ground beef. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

2

tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1

onion, chopped fine

6

garlic cloves, minced

1

pound meatloaf mix

Salt and pepper

¼

cup heavy cream

1

(28-ounce) can tomato puree

1

(28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

½

cup chopped fresh basil

24

ounces (3 cups) whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese

2

ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

1

large egg, lightly beaten

12

no-boil lasagna noodles

12

ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups)

TO FINISH AND SERVE

4

ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1

ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)

TO PREP

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meatloaf mix, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomato puree and diced tomatoes, bring to simmer, and cook until flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in ¼ cup basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool to room temperature, 30 to 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, Parmesan, egg, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and remaining ¼ cup basil in bowl.

3. Spread 1 cup cooled sauce on bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish (avoiding large chunks of meat). Lay 3 noodles in dish, spread ⅓ cup of ricotta mixture over each noodle, sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella, and top with 1 cup sauce; repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce 2 more times. Lay remaining 3 noodles in dish and top with remaining sauce.

TO STORE

4. Wrap dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

TO FINISH AND SERVE

5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap dish and cover tightly with greased aluminum foil. Bake lasagna until hot throughout and bubbling around edges, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve.