Lasagna Bolognese

Lasagna bolognese — Italian for a meat-based tomato sauce — was a staple Sunday meal growing up.

My Nonna (grandmother) would make lasagna for our family with miniature meatballs hidden inside. Sometimes, for us kids, our pieces would contain one giant meatball in the centre. So when I decided to try making it on my own, I asked my mom for tips and suggestions on the layers, cheeses and cooking time.

Turns out, what was always a routinely special meal isn’t all that difficult to make. The ingredients are easy to find in your local store and the prep work takes about half an hour, if that. Like baking a cake, this dish is all about layers.

Once you’ve added all those layered ingredients, just let the lasagna cook for about 50 minutes in the oven. Once it cools, you’re good to go. It’s a perfect dinner for two (or more) that you’ll want to make again and again.

Serve it alongside a healthy salad or, in my case, pair it with a good old-fashioned garlic bread. Because with 3 types of cheese and 3 layers of pasta noodles, why not go all in and make it a carb-filled night?

Prep time | 30 mins.
Cook time | 50 mins.
Yields | 8 pieces

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups of ricotta
  • 2 cups of mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cups of tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili flakes
  • 2 tbsp pesto
  • 3 large sheets of lasagna noodles (or 6 half sheets)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Prepare all 3 cheeses in separate bowls.
  3. Boil a pot of water in preparation of the noodles. When the water is boiled, add the noddles in (if you can’t add them all in at once, stagger them).
  4. In a large pan, cook the ground beef. Add child flakes for some extra spice. Make sure you drain the grease before adding in the tomato sauce to create the combined bolognese sauce.
  5. Once the grease is drained from the pan, add the tomato sauce and pesto. Mix until well combined. If you want to add more kick to your bolognese sauce, toss in some more chill flakes.
  6. In a rectangular baking dish (preferably glass), add the first layer of bolognese sauce. Then, add a layer of noodles. Add another layer of bolognese sauce, then top it with half the mozzarella and half the ricotta.
  7. Add another layer of noodles, followed by a layer of bolognese sauce. Add the remaining mozzarella and ricotta on top of that.
  8. Add the final layer of noodles followed by the remaining bolognese sauce. Add all the parmesan cheese to the top of this final layer.
  9. Cover the lasagna with foil and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and keep in the oven for another 20 minutes so the top can crisp. But make sure it doesn’t burn.
  10. When it’s finished cooking, let cool for 30 minutes. Then cut into your lasagna and enjoy while hot!