Katel's Tweaked World's Best Lasagna

Total Time: 11 hrs 33 mins Preparation Time: 8 hrs 45 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 48 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb sweet italian sausage (casings removed)
• 3/4 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2-1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional) or 1/2-1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
• 12 ounces canned tomato paste
• 12 -15 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup dry red wine or 1/2 cup dry sherry or 1/2 cup dry vermouth or 1/2 cup dry wine or 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf italian parsley, roughly chopped
• cooking spray
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf italian parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb sliced deli-style mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (1/4 cup per layer)
• cooking spray, to prevent foil from sticking to lasagna

Recipe

• 1 sauce:.
• 2 in a large, heavy pot, cook sausage, ground beef until browned. drain sausage and ground beef and reserve, leaving 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan. cook onion over medium heat until well-browned (maybe 5 minutes?), but do not burn. add garlic and cook for 30 seconds (if garlic burns, it turns bitter).
• 3 add drained sausage and ground beef back to pan. stir in anchovy paste, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and wine/sherry/water. now stir in sugar, basil, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons roughly chopped italian flat-leaf parsley.
• 4 bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (if you use an enameled cast iron dutch oven, give yourself a pat on the back.). (the simmering cooks the sauce down to a very thick consistency.).
• 5 let sauce cool, then refrigerate in a covered non-reactive dish overnight to let the flavors meld.
• 6 lasagna:.
• 7 soak raw, hard noodles in a large roasting pan with very hot tap water for 20-30 minute (noodles won't be cooked but soft, and can complete its cooking in the oven.).
• 8 (alternatively, you may instead bring a large pot of water to a boil, seasoned with kosher salt. boil lasagna noodles for 8-10 minutes. drain noodles and rinse with cold water.).
• 9 in a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, 2 tablespoons parsley, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• 10 preheat oven to 375 degrees f. spray 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• 11 spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of the 9x13-inch baking dish. arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. top with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese slices. spoon 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce on top, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.
• 12 for second layer: spread 1 1/2 cups meat sauce, 6 noodles, remaining ricotta mixture, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups sauce, remaining half of mozzarella slices, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
• 13 tear off aluminum foil to cover pan. spray foil with cooking spray.
• 14 bake for 25 minutes, covered with foil, at 375 degrees f.
• 15 remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes.
• 16 cool 15-20 minutes before serving.