Our Lasagna

I lived in Italy for 5 months during 2019. I was really excited to come home at the end because all the traveling had started to catch up with me. I knew I would miss traveling to a lot of really interesting places, but I didn't expect to miss the small things about living there. I could leave my apartment, take the metro two stops north, and have my pick of delicious food. There was one restaurant that my friends and I frequented often. They were only open from 12-4 P.M. and they made a total of 10 tiramisu dishes in disposable plastic containers each day. My friends and I would go right at opening just to ensure there was a tiramisu for each of us.

A few weeks after returning home, some of my friends from abroad came over to my place and we decided to make a lasagna. It was kind of a shit show to be honest, because we didn't use a recipe, and we are kind of chaotic when around each other. Despite all that, when the dish came out of the oven, I kid you not it was the best lasagna I have ever had. That's saying something considering I ate delicious Italian food a solid 6 out of 7 days a week for 5 months.

After that night, I continued to make lasagna for my other friends and family. I still never use a recipe, so it's slightly different each time, but it brings back so many good memories from that time in my life. I decided to share the general structure of my recipe, and I hope anyone who decides to make it does their own take on the proportions and ingredients.

Megan’s Lasagna

1 package of lasagna noodles (the ones you have to boil, or the ones you don't, chefs choice)

1 can of tomato sauce (the simpler the better, nothing fancy)

1 package of 1lb ground turkey (totally optional)

1 half of a white onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 container of whole milk ricotta (the big one if you like it cheesy, a small one if you don't. I’ve made a version of this recipe with almond milk ricotta and it's actually really good)

1 teaspoon of oregano (I never really measure this out so I'm totally guessing here. I just add some to the ricotta in a separate bowl and mix it until I feel like there is a good cheese to spice ratio. Adding an egg to this mixture will keep it together better, but I usually make it without)

2 sticks of celery

1 large carrot (this and the celery are optional, but it makes me feel healthy so I add it)

2-3 cups of mozzarella cheese (I don't have an amount for this, it's completely chef's choice. If you like a lot, buy a lot. I suggest buying the low moisture mozzarella that you shred yourself, but honestly, the pre-shredded packages are basically as good so do whatever is easier)

¼ cup of parmesan cheese (not necessary, but I like adding some parm)

Directions

Chop the celery and carrot. I like it when they are really small so I don't even realize they are there but cut them how you want to. Mince the garlic (which means chop it really fine) Saute the onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in olive oil and brown the turkey in a large pan. When done, turn the heat down to simmer and drain any fat left in the pan. Add the can of sauce to the meat and leave on simmer, stirring occasionally. If you have to boil your noodles, follow the instructions on the box. They like to stick together when you take them out, so I lay out a huge piece of parchment paper and lay them down so they don’t touch. Prepare the ricotta and oregano mixture in a separate bowl by adding both and mixing with a spoon until well combined. Now you can assemble. Take the meat sauce off the heat and scoop a tiny bit into the bottom of your dish (the dish can be literally any size you want, if it’s small the lasagna will be higher, if it's large the lasagna will be shorter. I usually make it in an 8x8 glass pan). Adding about a small spoon's worth of sauce to the bottom and spreading it around helps prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan. I then place the first round of noodles. No need to overlap, just try to cover the entire area. You can cut the noodles if necessary so that they fit. Then spread on a layer of the ricotta-oregano mixture (sometimes the noodles try to move when I do this, so use your fingers to hold them in place if needed), then spread the meat sauce over that. Then sprinkle mozzarella over that, and end it all with a sprinkling of parmesan. Repeat this process (noodle, ricotta-oregano, mozzarella, parmesan) until you run out of one ingredient. On the top layer, I just do the meat sauce and the mozzarella (no ricotta-oregano or parmesan). Now cook the lasagna at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. The time amount doesn't really matter because all the ingredients are technically already cooked. I then set the oven to broil for like half a minute to a minute. Watch it carefully during this time because it's easy to burn the mozzarella on top (I’m speaking from experience). Let the dish sit for 5-10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. If you don't it will kind of fall apart when you try and get a piece. I recommend serving it with some garlic bread, but chefs choice on that. I hope you like it as much as I do, and I hope you make it your own.