Best 4 Cafe Lago Lasagna Recipes

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

CAFE LAGO LASAGNA

Steps:

• LASAGNA ASSEMBLY 1 buttered 15-by-10-by-2-inch Pyrex baking dish Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully place 1 18-inch pasta sheet in the boiling water, folding it in so it does not stick to itself (Tip: Viladas lowers it gently and slowly.) Boil 2 minutes. Remove from water using strainer insert, shock it in a bowl of cold water to stop further cooking, carefully lay it flat on the dish towel and pat dry with paper towels. Lay the sheet into 1 side of the Pyrex dish, letting pasta hang off either end about 2 inches, and about 1/2 inch over the side. Repeat this step twice using the other 2 sheets of pasta, laying 1 sheet in the middle of the dish and the last sheet on the other side. (The middle sheet should overlap the others by an inch or 2.) You are creating the bottom and wraparound layer of the lasagna. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over this first layer of pasta. Boil 2 10-inch sheets of pasta, pat dry, and place these side by side Spread half the ricotta mix evenly over the pasta layer, Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer Cover pasta layer with half the béchamel sauce. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer Cover this layer with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Layer with rest of ricotta mix. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Cover with rest of béchamel. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Cover with thin layer of marinara. Top with last 2 layers of pasta sheets. Fold the overhanging pasta layer over the top pasta Top with 1/4-inch layer of marinara sauce and 1 more layer of pasta on top. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let lasagna come to room temperature, or refrigerate for 3 or more hours until you are about 1 hour away from serving. .Heat remaining marinara on the stovetop. Place each piece on a plate and spoon a little marinara over the top, garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

CAFE LAGO LASAGNA

Steps:

• LASAGNA ASSEMBLY 1 buttered 15-by-10-by-2-inch Pyrex baking dish Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully place 1 18-inch pasta sheet in the boiling water, folding it in so it does not stick to itself (Tip: Viladas lowers it gently and slowly.) Boil 2 minutes. Remove from water using strainer insert, shock it in a bowl of cold water to stop further cooking, carefully lay it flat on the dish towel and pat dry with paper towels. Lay the sheet into 1 side of the Pyrex dish, letting pasta hang off either end about 2 inches, and about 1/2 inch over the side. Repeat this step twice using the other 2 sheets of pasta, laying 1 sheet in the middle of the dish and the last sheet on the other side. (The middle sheet should overlap the others by an inch or 2.) You are creating the bottom and wraparound layer of the lasagna. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over this first layer of pasta. Boil 2 10-inch sheets of pasta, pat dry, and place these side by side Spread half the ricotta mix evenly over the pasta layer, Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer Cover pasta layer with half the béchamel sauce. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer Cover this layer with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Layer with rest of ricotta mix. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Cover with rest of béchamel. Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, Cover with thin layer of marinara. Top with last 2 layers of pasta sheets. Fold the overhanging pasta layer over the top pasta Top with 1/4-inch layer of marinara sauce and 1 more layer of pasta on top. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let lasagna come to room temperature, or refrigerate for 3 or more hours until you are about 1 hour away from serving. .Heat remaining marinara on the stovetop. Place each piece on a plate and spoon a little marinara over the top, garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.