This is a Lidia Bastianich recipe. I’ve made more than a handful of her recipes, and this one is, like all of them, delicious and impressive. It’s so loaded with meat, sauce, and cheese that it borders on obscene. I have to be right up front with you about this lasagna, however: it’s a hell of a lot of work. But, the work can be – as far as I’m concerned, should be – spread out among several days. I promise you, the payoff is well worth the work. You’d be proud to serve even the leftovers to guests.
What you need to serve 12 incredibly generously:
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt
2 lbs lasagna noodles
2 large eggs
2 lbs fresh or packaged whole-milk ricotta cheese, strained
8 cups Italian-American Meat Sauce
2½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, sliced thin
Summarized Directions:
This recipe is from “Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen,” Knopf, New York, 2003. Pg. 156-67. Get the book, because if you think this lasagna sounds delicious, you’re going to flip out over the spaghetti and meatballs recipe. “Italian-American Meat Sauce” comes from that same book.
Add oil and salt to pasta water. Cook noodles to al dente. Meanwhile, blend eggs and ricotta. Then, build your lasagna like this:
- (Top Layer) ¼ of the parmesan
- 1 cup of the sauce
- Fold in overhanging noodles
- ¼ of the parmesan
- 2 cups of the sauce
- ¼ (plus 1) of the noodles, lengthwise, not overhanging
- ¼ of the parmesan
- 2 cups of the sauce
- All the mozzarella
- ¼ (minus 1) of the noodles, lengthwise, overhanging pan
- All the eggy ricotta
- ¼ (plus 1) of the noodles, crosswise, overhanging pan
- ¼ of the parmesan
- 2 cups of the sauce
- ¼ (minus 1) of the noodles, lengthwise, overhanging pan
- (Bottom Layer) ½ cup of the sauce
Bake at 350ºF, 45 minutes covered, 20 more minutes uncovered. Let stand.
Notes:
- This is “special occasion” food; you really have to go the distance and make your own sauce. Yes, it’s true that eight cups of sauce is just shy of three 24-oz jars of Newman’s Own “Sockarooni,” to which you would have to add 1 lb of ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork, scrambled, in order to approximate Lidia’s sauce. But the only reason I’m telling you that is so that you’ll know exactly what you should not do. Even though with that shortcut, you could assemble the lasagna one day, and bake it the next – a relative breeze – I would never suggest it … never. And I would also suggest not telling anyone if you do! 😉
- Lidia’s Italian-American Meat Sauce produces more than you need, but that turns out to be a good thing. Serve the leftover sauce alongside the lasagna, so that people can pour it onto their servings like gravy.
- Lidia asks you to bake this lasagna in a 15 x 10-inch baking dish. Although they do exist, you probably have a 13 x 9-inch cake pan; it will work perfectly.
- Don’t buy presliced mozzarella. It’s sliced too thick.
- Taste every layer before you add the next element, to make sure it’s perfectly seasoned. There’s no way to correct the seasoning after the fact.
I give this recipe a huge five stars. I can’t imagine better. It reheats perfectly in the microwave (4-5 minutes per massive piece) and freezes beautifully. 
(5 / 5)
Italian-American Lasagna
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!. This content was not solicited nor written in exchange for anything – although we couldn’t be more pleased that Lidia retweeted it!
I absolutely love this, look at those perfect layers, Jeff !! I have never really had any luck making Lasagna so I need to give this a try.
Rahul @samosastreet.com recently posted…Beetroot Tikki
Oh you should! It’s incredible.
I need to set aside a couple of days to make this. There’s nothing better than a full-blown lasagna. GREG
Its worth the effort.
The amount of parmesan is what interests me with this one, but I guess it needs it as mozzarella doesn’t have a great deal of flavour. And I’d like to see the recipe for that meat sauce. I’m not one for using the pre-made jar stuff and I’ve gotta say, I don’t think I could let this sit in the fridge overnight before I could cook and eat it. I want it now!
John @ heneedsfood recently posted…Indian spiced pork loin with foraged greens
The meat sauce is nice. Maybe I’ll review it sometime. I agree with you about the cheese: the mozzarella has more of an umami, and the parm gives you more of a flavor. Even so, it IS a lot of cheese. This is a very substantial lasagna.
Oh you should! It’s incredible.
Holy lasagna, Batman! You seriously made this one look amazing, Jeff. I always shy away from making lasagna because it does indeed take a long time. But you’re right in that it produces leftovers. And leftover lasagna might even be better than the real thing. Kinda like leftover pizza. Ah, but I digress. This looks like my kind of lasagna, and I hope you saved me a slice!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Grilled Guacamole
It is a labor of love, especially if you begin by making a scratch sauce. That’s why I think the only reasonable thing to do is to make it in various stages, over the course of a couple days. However, like you suggest, it’s fantastic leftover! And it freezes beautifully! So while you’re at it, make two at once and freeze a bunch!
This looks great. Is there a delivery option?
Ooh there really should be!
Lasagna IS work, isn’t it? But so worth it. A really good lasagna was one of my first “company” dishes. Haven’t made it in ages, though (all that work!). Yours looks terrific — thanks!
John/Kitchen Riffs recently posted…The Blue Moon Cocktail
I agree! It’s great for company, and just about everyone loves it. It was also one of the first “company dishes” I ever made. GMTA!
You had me at 2½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese! Now that’s a lot of Parm. Love all the layers, it’s a lasagne monster friend. A definite labor of love! I would make my own sauce or like to make hers. Any chance of posting her sauce recipe Jeff? Have a great weekend.
Yeah, this lasagna is loaded! I’ll definitely be reviewing some more of her recipes, so I’ll keep the meat sauce high on the list.
Ooh lasagne. Its making me hungry and its only breakfast time here. Lasagne is a breakfast food, right?? 🙂
Lis @ The Fare Sage recently posted…As luck would have it
I’m going to say yes.
Love the technique in this one! Nice post.
The Old Fat Guy
Thanks!
Getting ready to make the lasagna for the second time. The first time I made it, I served to a stuffy, fastidious, and obnoxiously picky eater who declared it to be the best lasagna he’d ever eaten, including his mother’s.
That’s awesome!
This looks delicious <3 Gonna try it today for sure. Thanks for sharing <3