Lauren's Lasagna

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb unseasoned ground pork
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Olive oil
• 3 large rosemary sprigs
• Garlic salt, black pepper

Besciamella Sauce

• 1 stick butter
• White flour
• 3ish cups whole milk
• Salt and ground nutmeg

Cheese Mixture

• 24 oz cottage cheese
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Chopped parsley

Note: You can use ricotta instead of cottage cheese to make it more "Italian," but I honestly prefer the flavor of the cottage cheese.

Directions

Tomato Sauce

1. Finely chop onion, carrot and celery.
2. Coat the bottom of a large sauce pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat.
3. Add butter and heat until melted with olive oil.
4. Add onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for a few minutes. Add ground beef and pork.
5. Add garlic salt and black pepper liberally. Cook until browned.
6. Drain fat and return to medium heat. Add all the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add rosemary and reduce to low heat.
7. Garlic salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 1–2 hours adding water periodically to maintain saucy consistency.

Besciamella Sauce

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan and whisk in sifted flour to reach a consistency roughly like honey.
2. Whisk in milk over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to avoid scalding.
3. Heat until it reaches a gravy-like consistency.
4. Salt to taste and add two pinches of nutmeg.

Cheese Mixture

1. Combine cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and parsley in a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir until well combined.

Assembling the Lasagne

1. I prefer to use Barilla oven-ready lasagne noodles. Use a large glass cake pan. Coat the bottom with olive oil. Ladle in Bolognese sauce until the bottom of the pan is lightly covered.
2. Cover the bottom with lasagne attempting to eliminate any holes in the layer without doubling up noodles.
3. Cover the noodles with Bolognese sauce.
4. Ladle besciamella onto the Bolognese.
5. Don't cover it, just create ample squiggles in the Bolognese.
6. Cover with lasagne.
7. Repeat again.
8. Add cheese mixture to the third layer.
9. Cover with lasagne.
10. Repeat layers with the Bolognese/besciamella mixture until you reach the top of your pan.
11. On the top, cover with Bolognese sauce.
12. Cover liberally with grated parmesan.
13. Add 4 pats of butter across the top.
14. Cover with foil.
15. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 mins.
16. You should see the sauce boiling at the bottom of the pan.
17. Remove foil and bake for 5 mins more.
18. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 mins before cutting.