(Really) Homemade Lasagna

Yeah, the camera is still missing. This looked like lasagna.

It did take a good couple hours of my Sunday. Sundays are a great time for getting something in the fridge for leftovers all week. This turned into dinner on Tuesday when I came home sick, and lunch for both of us Wednesday through Friday. What else would I have done with that Sunday? We used to have a busy social calendar that ate up time and money, but we've cut back on that. I could have watched TV, but this lasagna tasted better than Real Housewives of Orange County, and it was better for me. A little football in the background, a lotta cooking in the kitchen, and plenty of snack breaks is just about my ideal weekend.

I started with Joy to get an idea of the layers - last time I didn't use enough pasta - but lasagna is one of those things that doesn't need much recipe.

Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
  
• garlic to taste, minced
• 1 large can peeled tomatoes
• 1 large can tomato puree (optional, keep reading)
• salt, pepper, and herbs (oregano, parsley, basil, whatever you like) to taste

Directions
I browned the ground beef in a large shallow skillet, then softened the onion and garlic in the fat. I pureed the tomatoes in the food processor - Not Michael Landon isn't a fan of chewing cooked tomatoes - and added them to the pan. Top off with the seasonings, cover, and simmer as long as you have, stirring occasionally. The longer the simmer the better, but until you're done with the rest of the dish is just fine.

Just make sure you keep an eye on the heat, especially if it's going a good while with all the rest there is to do. You wouldn't want to burn it, and have to add another can of tomato puree to thin it out, while trying to avoid scraping up the burned bits on the bottom into the sauce. But if that did happen, it wouldn't ruin anything. As long as the burned bits aren't in big clumps, the sweetness hides it well. Prairie food is about salvaging now and then. But I wouldn't know, 'cause I kept a good eye on my sauce.

Pasta
Here's where the really homemade begins. I would have used my home canned tomatoes for the sauce, but it still feels too early (hopefully that changes before next tomato season). I made the pasta fresh like I have before. I cut it all into lasagna noodles, just by hand. Each 1/4 batch into six noodles - once in half width wise and then into thirds longways. I used about 3/4 of the pasta for this dish, and dried the rest of it. It's all curled up, so I'll need to boil them when I use them, but I didn't boil the fresh pasta. While I let the pasta rest, before rolling it out, I made the cheese.

Ricotta
To keep the homemade goin', I made my own ricotta. I've made my own mozzarella before, but it is more work and more difficult, and the results aren't as polished, so I stuck to store bought this time. Ricotta is really insanely easy. This recipe is adapted from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, where I got my citric acid and dairy thermometer. The stages are fairly easy to recognize even without a thermometer. I didn't chill it at all, I just let it drain for a half hour while I was rolling the pasta, and then used it right away. I only used 1/2 gallon of milk, but I should have used double that. I'm not a giant ricotta fan, so I didn't mind, but this is yummy enough to turn me.

Ingredients

• 1 gal whole milk
• 2 tsp citric acid (there's also recipes with vinegar or buttermilk out there)

Directions

1. Use whole milk. The fresher the better. I get mine these days from Straus Family Creamery; it comes in bottles, which is so cute it makes it taste better.
   
2. Add 2 tsp of citric acid per gallon of liquid (dissolved in 1 cup cool water). Add 1/2 of this Citric Acid solution to the milk (save the rest of the citric acid). Stir briskly for 5-10 seconds.
3. Add 1 tsp salt.
4. Heat the milk slowly on low to med stirring well to prevent scorching.
5. At 165-170F watch for small flakes forming in the milk and the separation of small curds.
   If after a few minutes you do not see the flakes forming, add more of the Citric acid until they form (do this in small 1 Tbsp increments to avoid over acid milk). I didn't need to add anything here.
   
6. Continue heating to 190-195F then turn the heat off.
7. As the curds rise, use a perforated ladle to gently move them from the sides to the center of the pot. These clumps of curd will begin to consolidate floating on top of the liquid.
   Let the curds rest for 10-15 min.
   *** This is very important because this is the point where the final Ricotta quality is assured
8. Ladle the curds gently into draining forms (No cheese cloth should be needed if you were patient in the previous step). As a "draining form" I used cheese cloth over a mesh strainer. Let the curds drain for 15 min up to several hours.
   For a fresh light ricotta, drain it for a short while (until the free whey drainage slows) and chill to below 50F. For a rich, dense and buttery texture allow it to drain for an extended period of time (several hours). before chilling overnight
   Move to a refrigerator or cold room. Consume within 10 days.

Assembly

1. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish.
   
2. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan.
   
3. Top with pasta, slighly overlapping the pieces, then ricotta, shredded mozarella cheese (freeze it for at least 15 minutes to make grating easier), and sauce. Repeat these layers twice more.
   
4. Top with more sauce and plenty of mozzarella cheese. Add some parmesan too if you're feeling fancy.
   
5. At this point I covered the dish with foil and stuck it in the fridge. Bake within the next couple days at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, until bubbly. Then take off the foil for another 10-15 minutes until the top is nice and golden. After dinner when the plate is cool, stick it back in the fridge for leftovers. It's even better the next day.