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Hearty Meat Sauce (Lasagna Base + Leftovers)

Serves a crowd

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef (90/10)
1 lb ground mild sausage
2 (24 oz) passata
1 (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1½ cup red wine
2 small sweet onions, finely chopped
1 head garlic, cloves rough chopped (or leave whole and smoosh once cooked all day in the sauce)
1 extra-large carrot, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
3 tbsp dried basil
3 tbsp dried thyme
3 tbsp dried oregano
2–3 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 small can tomato paste
Optional: 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions
In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook onions, carrot, and celery for about 5–7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes until fragrant.

Add 2 lb ground beef (lean is nice for this application) + 1 lb ground mild or hot sausage, breaking it up as it browns. Once fully cooked, remove excess grease if needed.

Add 1 small can tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes to open up the flavor.

Pour in 1½ cup red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it simmer and reduce slightly.

Stir in 2 (24 oz) passata + 1 (28 oz) crushed tomatoes. Add 3 tbsp dried basil, 3 tbsp dried thyme, 3 tbsp dried oregano, 2–3 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper.

Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer gently.

Cook in a slow cooker on low all afternoon, or leave it on the stove if you’re home for 3 to 6 hours. It only gets better! Before serving or using to layer in your lasagna, taste and add salt to bring it up to your desired level.

Cream Layer for your lasagna BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

Ingredients
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2–2 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed *
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional but classic)

After you build the sauce add in:
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup or 8 oz container mascarpone cheese

Instructions
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp butter. Once melted, whisk in 1/4 cup flour and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it forms a smooth paste and smells slightly nutty. This is your roux.

Slowly pour in 2–2 1/2 cups warmed milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, whisking continuously to keep the sauce smooth. Let it thicken before adding more milk each time so you avoid lumps.

Once all the milk is incorporated, continue cooking and whisking for 5–8 minutes until the sauce is thick, silky, and coats the back of a spoon.

Stir in 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Once you build the base of the sauce, turn off the heat and add up to 1 cup freshly grated parmesan and 8 oz mascarpone cheese. Whisk to incorporate and taste for salt.

Warm, or you can VERY slowly start to add it into the roux and whisk. Warm is better, but this is a shortcut like we did on the livestream.

Build your lasagna.

Note: You will need to make two times the cream sauce to use up all the meat sauce, but I like to freeze the leftovers to make an easy pasta dish later in the week.

Using fresh lasagna sheets will cut down your dishes and your cook time. But feel free to cook lasagna sheets and use them to layer. If your lasagna is cooked, this will only take 35 maybe 45 minutes at 350.

Start by covering the bottom of your oven-safe casserole dish with a layer of meat sauce. Layer with lasagna noodles, then layer your cream sauce and top with some fresh slices of mozzarella. Finish with fresh ground pepper and top with noodles. Continue this process until you reach the top and end with a layer of meat sauce. Grate more Parmesan on top. You can also add some mozzarella to the final meat layer so you can get a more crispy finish.

Let it rest for 5 minutes or so to let the layers firm up before slicing. Serve with your favorite side salad and some garlic bread, and you have a feast fit for any crowd.