Recipe – Sloppy Lasagna

I love the Food Network, and several of their shows. This recipe is from Rachel Ray, but I have adapted it to save me even more time and effort. This recipe is a 30 minute meal, and if you have a large family or a potluck, this will feed the entire group easily. I have included the full original recipe. I will include what I do differently as a note.

Sloppy Lasagna:

• Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds curly edge lasagna noodles
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 pounds ground beef, pork and veal mix
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped *
  • 1 small carrot, grated or finely chopped *
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated *
  • 2 fresh bay leaves *
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pinches ground cinnamon *
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste *
  • 1 cup white wine *
  • 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes *
  • A handful basil leaves, torn *
  • 4 tablespoons butter *
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour *
  • 2 to 2 1/2 cups milk, eyeball the amount *
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste *
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese

• Directions:
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Break all of the pasta sheets into irregular, larger than single bite-sized pieces. Salt the water, then add the pasta and cook to a little shy of al dente. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
  • Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot or large skillet over medium heat. Add the meat, press it into an even layer and brown it for 3 to 4 minutes before moving. Turn the meat and add the onions and grated carrot. Stir and cook a few minutes to soften, then add the garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper, to taste, and the cinnamon. Cook for a couple of minutes, then stir in the tomato paste, wait for 1 minute then add the wine. Reduce for a minute more, then add the tomatoes, breaking them up as you stir. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the basil.
  • While the sauce simmers, in a medium sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk and nutmeg, and season with salt, pepper, to taste. Let cook for a couple of minutes to thicken, then stir in 1/2 cup of the grated cheese and turn off the heat.
  • Heat a broiler.
  • Add the meat sauce to the bowl with the pasta and toss. Layer half of the pasta into a lasagna pan and scatter with dollops of fresh ricotta cheese. Top with remaining pasta. Pour the white sauce over the pasta and scatter the remaining 1 cup of the grated cheese over the top. Put under the broiler to brown and bubble. Remove from the broiler and serve.

• Amateur Connoisseur Note:
  • If you don’t want to make the tomato sauce or the white sauce, save your time and money and purchase jarred sauce that you like. The ingredients with an asterisk behind them are used in the sauces so you do not need to use them if using jarred sauces.
  • If you are not making the sauces you can skip steps 2 and 3 in the cooking directions.

Happy Eating!