Three Cheese Lasagna ~

I learned to make lasagna as a teenager, so it's not difficult at all.  The ingredients you put into the lasagna are what make it so good.  Good cheese, good tomato sauce. That's it.  Then it's an assembly that comes together easy.  Even if you mix up a step, or reverse the layering, no one will know.  It's a casserole of sorts, meant to be tossed together and covered with your sauce and cheese.

First of all, I make my own sauce/gravy.  But, you don't have to.  I just find that I can control the sodium levels in my own sauce, where I can't in store bought ones.  If you use a good store bought tomato sauce to save time, then go for it.  Your lasagna will come out fine.

Ingredients:

Tomato sauce, about 2 cups.
1- 6 oz. ball of good mozzarella cheese (I use Vermont Cheese)
2lbs of Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
3 large eggs
1 box of curly lasagna sheets (I use Barilla)
3/4 cups of grated parmesan cheese  (I use Parmigiano Reggiano)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place rack in the middle of the oven.

Fill a very large (6 or 7 qt. soup/sauce pan) pot, with the hottest tap water you can get out of your faucet.
Fan out your lasagna noodles and immerse in the water.  Let them sit for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the ricotta cheese with the eggs one at a time.  Add 1 tablespoon of kosher
salt and 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper.  Whisk well, for a couple of minutes.  Set bowl aside.
Slice your mozzarella very thinly and set aside.

Now, you are ready to assemble.  Take a ladle (I use a large soup size).  And add 1 ladle full of sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pyrex dish.  If you don't have this dish, use a baking dish similar in size.  Not larger than this size.  Smaller is okay.  Strain your lasagna noodles into a large colander.  Let air dry for a few minutes.
Now, add three lasagna noodles the long way in your pyrex dish.  They should be touching one another.  If your dish is longer, then turn your noodles the opposite way and cut to fit.  Trust me, cutting up your noodles to fit doesn't matter, except to make it look pretty on the top layer.  You want to save 4 unbroken ones for that layer.
Add 1/3 of your ricotta cheese, and about 1/3 of your mozzarella slices.  When you add your sauce on the second layer, add half of your parmesan cheese.  Repeat once more, ending with the parmesan sprinkled all over the top.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes covered with foil.  Uncover and continue to bake 10-15 minutes longer.  You want to see it bubbling a little, and then you will know it's done.

This is an important part:  Let your lasagna rest uncovered for 15 minutes before you serve it.

Serve with a nice, green salad.

Enjoy ~