Betty’s Baked Lasagna

Meat Sauce

• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• ½ pound lean ground pork
• 1 cup white onion — diced
• 2 cloves garlic — minced
• 1 can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes — 28 oz, crushed by hand
• 1 can tomato sauce — 15 oz
• 1 ½ tablespoons parsley — dried
• 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon basil — dried
• ½ teaspoon black pepper — freshly ground

Cheese Filling

• 1 carton whole-milk cottage cheese — 32 oz; drain briefly if visibly watery
• 1 large egg — lightly beaten
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese — grated
• 1 tablespoon parsley — dried
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano — dried

Layers

• 9 noodles lasagna noodles — regular
• 12 oz low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese — shredded
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese — grated, for topping

1. Make the Meat Sauce: Add the ground beef, pork, and onion to a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat for 10–12 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is browned and the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Drain the excess fat. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried parsley, sugar, salt, basil, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook for 45–60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is rich and thick but still loose enough to spread between the noodles.1½ pounds ground beef, ½ pound ground pork, 1 cup white onion, 2 garlic cloves, 28 oz whole peeled tomatoes, 15 oz tomato sauce, 1½ tablespoons dried parsley, 1½ tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon black pepper
2. Prepare the Cheese Filling: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan, dried parsley, salt, and oregano until evenly combined.32 oz cottage cheese, 1 large egg, ½ cup Parmesan, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried oregano
3. Cook the Noodles: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles for about 2 minutes less than the package directions, until flexible but still quite firm. Drain the noodles and lay them flat in a single layer on clean kitchen towels so they do not stick together.9 lasagna noodles
4. Assemble the Lasagna: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread approximately 1 cup of meat sauce over the bottom of a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles over the sauce. Spread one-third of the remaining meat sauce over the noodles, followed by half of the cottage-cheese filling and one-third of the mozzarella. Repeat with another 3 noodles, one-third of the sauce, the remaining cottage-cheese filling, and another third of the mozzarella. Add the final 3 noodles, then finish with the remaining meat sauce, mozzarella, and the ½ cup Parmesan.prepared meat sauce, prepared cheese filling, 9 lasagna noodles, 12 oz mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan
5. Bake Until Bubbly: Loosely tent the baking dish with foil, keeping the foil from touching the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 20–25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling near the center and the cheese is melted and deeply golden in places. If checked with a thermometer, the center should reach 165°F.
6. Rest and Serve: Transfer the baking dish to a heatproof surface and let the lasagna rest for 20 minutes before cutting. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired, and serve warm.