Lasagna with a decadent Bolognese ( meat and mushroom) sauce!

My dad and I like making pasta dishes. He usually makes the noodles and I make the sauce. Although for this recipe, we bought the noodles due to a lack of time.  Last Sunday everyone said the lasagna was especially good so I decided to write my recipe down. The secret to making it so good is the hint of soy sauce, it adds a little salt and a much needed umami quality.

 

The recipe for the sauce

2 large  red onions

1 carrot

2 celery stalks

1 lb mushrooms

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large can (24 oz) of tomato puree

1 large can  of tomato paste

1 small (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Wochestershire sauce

1/2 cup of beef broth or the equivalent amount of bouillon plus 1/2 cup water.

1/2 tsp Italian seasonings

1/2 tsp chili flakes

1/2 cup of  cream

 

for the lasagna itself

1 lb mozzarella

1 cup parmasan

1 lb ricotta

1 egg

16  lasagna noodles (either homemade or store-bought)

 

Things needed

1 food processor

1 pot or wok

1 casserole dish

1 colender

 

Instructions

For the sauce

1. Peel the carrot . Wash and cut the tops and bottoms off the celery. Skin the onions. Roughly chop the vegetables and put them in a food processor. Pulse until they are uniformly small pieces. Put them in the pot.

2. Cut the bottoms off of the mushrooms and slice in half. Put them in the food processor and pulse them exactly the same way the other vegetables were. Put them in the pot. Add the olive oil. Cook the vegetable  and mushroom mixture three to five (3-5) minutes.

3.  Add the beef, making sure to break it into small pieces, cook until no pink pieces are in the meat, approximately seven to ten ( 7-10) minutes.

4. Add the tomato products and the spices. Simmer on low for thirty (30) minutes. Add the beef broth and simmer for another ten (10) minutes.

5 .Lastly , stir in the cream gently.

 

For the noodles and construction of the lasagna.

Boil the noodles (either store-bought or homemade is fine) until tender and strain them in the colander.

Mix together the ricotta and the egg to form a paste.

Spread the meat and mushroom sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 14 inch pan.

Layer four noodles on top of the sauce.

Layer a little of the ricotta-egg mixture and then some more of the sauce.

Add the other cheeses in a thin layer.

Repeat this process roughly three times or until all of the noodles are used up. The layering doesn’t have to be perfect because the cheese will melt as it cooks.

Use the remaining sauce and cheese to top the lasagna.

Bake at 345 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until  the cheese on top is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

 

This is what the lasagna should look like when it is done. I recommend serving it with asparagus.