Lorine’s Lasagna
Pat: This is another one of those dishes that take me back to my childhood. I loved my momma Lorine’s lasagna, and to this day, I crave the molten layers of gooey cheese, rich tomato sauce, tender noodles, and beef. The pleasure of this dish is not just in the eating, it’s in the making and baking. When Momma’s lasagna is in the oven, our entire house smells like an Italian grandma has moved in. Lucky for me, my family loves this dish as much as I do, and Gina has learned to make this lasagna as well as my mom does. We like to make ours with cottage cheese, because we love the tangy flavor, but you can substitute the traditional ricotta if you prefer.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush a small amount of olive oil over the bottom and sides of a 13 × 9 × 2 inch baking dish.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic, and sauté, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until the meat is browned. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together, then stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Combine the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses in a bowl. Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay four noodles over the sauce, overlapping if necessary. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over top. Sprinkle 3/4 cups of the mozzarella-cheddar mixture over the cottage cheese mixture. Ladle 1 3/4 cups of the meat sauce over the cheese. Repeat layering in the same order (noodles, cottage cheese, etc.). Finish with the remaining four noodles, and top with 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella and cheddar. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Step 4
Cover the pan with foil and bake in center of oven for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake for about another 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.
