Source: https://marisatomay.substack.com/p/lasagnalasagne ----- You Will Need: - a large, heavy-bottom sauce pot or dutch oven, for all sauce ruminating - a large skillet, for browning the meat - an oven-safe pan, unlined, at least 9"x13" - a rimmed baking sheet - a heat-proof rubber spatula - a cutting board - a large knife to cut all of your vegetables - aluminum foil Ingredients: - 2 lbs ground meat (either beef, turkey, or bison) - 1 lbs uncooked breakfast or sweet Italian sausage, de-cased - 2 yellow onions, diced - 2 large carrots, diced - 2 celery stalks, just the green bits, diced - 3 large white mushrooms, diced - 4 garlic cloves, minced - 1 tsp fresh thyme - 1 tsp oregano - 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped small - 1 bay leaf - kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil, used liberally - 1/2 tube double concentrated tomato paste - 2 Tbps dark balsamic vinegar - 1 can (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes (diced is also acceptable) - 16 oz of mascarpone - 1-2 boxes of oven-ready lasagna noodles, depending on the size of your dish - 8 oz each of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, shredded I recommend keeping everything within their like-categories: meats, vegetables, spices and aromatics, garnishes, assembly items. I have ordered the ingredients to fit into these respective categories. I recommend gathering everything together first. 1. Dice your onions. 2. Heat at least 2 tbsps of olive oil in your sauce pot on low and add onions, salt, and pepper before covering with lid 3. Dice remaining vegetables while the onions begin to sweat and caramelize. 4. Add diced vegetables to softening onions, salt and pepper again as you wish, stir to mix with your rubber spatula, re-cover with lid 5. Peel garlic cloves and microplane them into the softening vegetables - if you do not have a microplane then mince the garlic by hand and add to pot - leave off lid. If the vegetables look dry and are sticking to the bottom of the pot then reduce heat, add 1/4 cup water to the pot (or as needed), stir to deglaze, and re-cover with lid for about 2 minutes before adding the garlic 6. While the garlic cooks for a few minutes, chop the rosemary, strip the thyme, and measure the oregano and bay leaf - add to the pot and stir. If after a few minutes the mixture looks too dry repeat the water addition from step 4 7. Add the tomato paste and stir until well-incorporated with the vegetables and spices - continue to stir until paste darkens slightly. Be sure to scrape the sides of the pot occasionally to re-incorporate all the elements 8. Add balsamic and stir until the smell of vinegar dissipates 9. Add can of crushed tomatoes to pot - fill the can with water to get all of the tomato out and add that water to the pot before stirring well and covering with lid. Be sure to leave lid slightly off-kilter so some liquid can cook off while the sauce simmers 10. Heat the large skillet on a separate burner over medium heat 11. When hot - add the ground meats, salt, and pepper to the skillet and cook until browned 12. Drain fat from the browned meat before adding the meat to the tomato sauce pot 13. Simmer sauce on low with lid on but slightly off-kilter for as long as possible. If you want to leave it to simmer for a really long time - add another cup of water to the sauce 14. While your sauce simmers - grate your cheeses but keep the mozzarella separate from the parmesan 15. When your sauce reaches the desired consistency (most of the water cooked off but not quite ragù consistency-you need enough liquid to cook the lasagna noodles but not so much that it’s goopy when hot, meat tender, aromatic) preheat your oven to 350F 16. While your oven preheats - add your mascarpone to your sauce and stir until completely incorporated 17. In your oven-safe dish - drizzle olive oil along the bottom and add 1/4 cup of water 18. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom - they will not fit perfectly so either overlap them or break them to fit your pan 19. Ladle in a layer of sauce - just enough to coat the noodles - and sprinkle a little bit of your shredded parmesan over the sauce 20. Add another layer of noodles and repeat Steps 17 & 18 until you reach the top of your dish - your top layer should be sauce, not noodles. If you have any remaining sauce and it really will not fit in the pan then jar it and freeze it 21. Sprinkle any remaining parmesan on top before adding your shredded mozzarella to the top of your dish - be sure to coat evenly 22. Place lasagna dish on a rimmed baking sheet and place sheet with dish in your oven on the middle rack 23. Bake until cheese is melted and then, using a long sheet of foil, add a little tent/hat on top of your dish - this will keep the cheese from burning without the foil sticking to the cheese 24. Bake for at least another 40 minutes but preferably for an hour or more 25. Remove the foil hat and turn on the broiler - bake until the cheese on top is golden and bubbly 26. Remove from oven and let cool before serving