By Jake Charlebois
If you’re someone blessed with good taste and comedic intuition, and you saw someone gorging on lasagna like a last meal, you may be inclined to make a reference to Jim Davis’ Garfield. But if you saw me eating lasagna, going completely silent out of respect for the dish and finishing a face-sized slice in under ten minutes, you’d probably be morally obligated to make that reference. Fair, because I plagiarized my love for lasagna from the cat himself.
Every Christmas Eve, my dad makes a luxurious tray of lasagna. And every Christmas, I go ham on this lasagna. Since I was eight, that is.
Before that, I couldn’t stand lasagna. I dreaded the dinner where I’d have to face it. But that Christmas was different, because of a collection my parents found. That year, my dad gave me his old Garfield comics. I could not tell you how many times I read those time-frail books. Like all kids do, I had a deep-rooted passion for something that made me happy.
But not quite like all kids do.
For some reason, the hedonistic fiend became my idol; it was not enough to read all the comics, I had to become Garfield. I’d blame childhood make-believe, but I’m not sure if it’s applicable. This was an obsessive devotion to the funny cat guy. To be him, I had to conquer lasagna. I swore to myself that I would clear the plate that year.
Christmas rolled around. I was first at the table. My plate heaping. I took a bite, and somehow, every qualm I’d ever had with lasagna disappeared.
I became one with my hero, and in the process, found something I love. Because I loved Garfield more than I feared sensory issues, lasagna would become the best part of Christmas.
If you’re someone blessed with good taste and comedic intuition, and you saw someone gorging on lasagna like a last meal, you may be inclined to make a reference to Jim Davis’ Garfield. But if you saw me eating lasagna, going completely silent out of respect for the dish and finishing a face-sized slice in under ten minutes, you’d probably be morally obligated to make that reference. Fair, because I plagiarized my love for lasagna from the cat himself.
Every Christmas Eve, my dad makes a luxurious tray of lasagna. And every Christmas, I go ham on this lasagna. Since I was eight, that is.
Before that, I couldn’t stand lasagna. I dreaded the dinner where I’d have to face it. But that Christmas was different, because of a collection my parents found. That year, my dad gave me his old Garfield comics. I could not tell you how many times I read those time-frail books. Like all kids do, I had a deep-rooted passion for something that made me happy.
But not quite like all kids do.
For some reason, the hedonistic fiend became my idol; it was not enough to read all the comics, I had to become Garfield. I’d blame childhood make-believe, but I’m not sure if it’s applicable. This was an obsessive devotion to the funny cat guy. To be him, I had to conquer lasagna. I swore to myself that I would clear the plate that year.
Christmas rolled around. I was first at the table. My plate heaping. I took a bite, and somehow, every qualm I’d ever had with lasagna disappeared.
I became one with my hero, and in the process, found something I love. Because I loved Garfield more than I feared sensory issues, lasagna would become the best part of Christmas.
Ingredients :
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
3 large cans of san marzano tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 small can tomato paste
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 large container ricotta cheese
1 medium container cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 glove garlic, roasted
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon marjoram
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
Pinch of red chilli flakes
3 cloves minced garlic
5 sheets of fresh lasagna noodles
Mozzarella cheese for top
Salt and pepper
Make the sauce
In a large skillet, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and the large diced onion on medium heat. Once onions are translucent add ground beef and pork, with salt and pepper. Cook well, strain out fat/liquid.
In a large pot on medium heat add small diced onion with 1/4 cup olive oil. Once translucent, add the minced garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste. Once the tomato paste starts to toast, de-glaze with the red wine and mix well. Add the cans of tomatoes and all of the dry herbs. Simmer for at least 2 hours, then blitz it up with a hand blender so the sauce is silky. Set aside 2 cups of this tomato sauce for the top and bottom of the lasagna.
Add meat mixture to the sauce and let simmer for another 2 hours.
Make the ricotta filling
Add the ricotta, cottage cheese, egg, roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil (roughly chopped), fresh parsley (finely chopped), and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl, then mix well.
Build the lasagna
In a large lasagna pan, put a thin layer of tomato sauce (1 of the 2 cups you set aside without meat) at the bottom of the pan, then lay down the first lasagna sheet. Add a layer of lasagna sauce then a layer of the ricotta blend. Layer on another pasta sheet.
Repeat this until you’ve used all 5 pasta sheets. On top of the last pasta sheet, spread the second cup of tomato sauce. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 2 hours on the middle rack.
After 2 hours remove the aluminum foil. You should see some bubbling around the edges.
Add a thick layer of grated mozzarella cheese on the top and put it back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and gooey.
Take the lasagna out of the oven, recover with foil and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then it is ready to serve!
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
3 large cans of san marzano tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 small can tomato paste
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 large container ricotta cheese
1 medium container cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 glove garlic, roasted
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon marjoram
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
Pinch of red chilli flakes
3 cloves minced garlic
5 sheets of fresh lasagna noodles
Mozzarella cheese for top
Salt and pepper
Make the sauce
In a large skillet, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and the large diced onion on medium heat. Once onions are translucent add ground beef and pork, with salt and pepper. Cook well, strain out fat/liquid.
In a large pot on medium heat add small diced onion with 1/4 cup olive oil. Once translucent, add the minced garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste. Once the tomato paste starts to toast, de-glaze with the red wine and mix well. Add the cans of tomatoes and all of the dry herbs. Simmer for at least 2 hours, then blitz it up with a hand blender so the sauce is silky. Set aside 2 cups of this tomato sauce for the top and bottom of the lasagna.
Add meat mixture to the sauce and let simmer for another 2 hours.
Make the ricotta filling
Add the ricotta, cottage cheese, egg, roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil (roughly chopped), fresh parsley (finely chopped), and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl, then mix well.
Build the lasagna
In a large lasagna pan, put a thin layer of tomato sauce (1 of the 2 cups you set aside without meat) at the bottom of the pan, then lay down the first lasagna sheet. Add a layer of lasagna sauce then a layer of the ricotta blend. Layer on another pasta sheet.
Repeat this until you’ve used all 5 pasta sheets. On top of the last pasta sheet, spread the second cup of tomato sauce. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 2 hours on the middle rack.
After 2 hours remove the aluminum foil. You should see some bubbling around the edges.
Add a thick layer of grated mozzarella cheese on the top and put it back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and gooey.
Take the lasagna out of the oven, recover with foil and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then it is ready to serve!