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• Recipe Overview
• Ingredients
• Processes - Utensils
• Instructions

• Cuisine

  European >> Italian >> Italian

• Dietary Style

• Source

  Genius Kitchen(food.com)

| 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. | 2. Bechamel sauce: In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. | 3. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. | 4. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. | 5. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. | 6. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. | 7. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. | 8. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. | 9. Set aside and allow to cool completely. | 10. In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. | 11. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. | 12. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. | 13. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. | 14. Set aside and allow to cool completely. | 15. In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. | 16. Season with salt and pepper. | 17. Set aside. | 18. Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. | 19. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. | 20. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. | 21. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. | 22. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. | 23. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. | 24. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. | 25. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna. | 26. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. | 27. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. | 28. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes. | 29. Simple Tomato Sauce: In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. | 30. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. | 31. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. | 32. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. | 33. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. | 34. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. | 35. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors. | 36. Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. | 37. Process until smooth. | 38. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. | 39. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. | 40. This will freeze up to 6 months. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated Nutritional Profile for Ingredients

Ingredient Name	Quantity	Unit	State	Energy (kcal)	Carbohydrates	Protein (g)	Total Lipid (Fat) (g)
butter	5	tablespoons	unsalted	427.5	19.6425	13.3575	36.0
butter	2	tablespoons		427.5	19.6425	13.3575	36.0
purpose flour	1/2	cup		-	-	-	-
milk	4	cups		595.36	46.6528	30.744	31.9152
nutmeg	1	pinch	grated	0.7219	0.0678	0.008	0.0499
tomato sauce	1 1/2	cups		-	-	-	-
salt				-	-	-	-
white pepper				-	-	-	-
extra virgin olive oil	1/4	cup		-	-	-	-
chuck	1	lb	ground	634.6681	1.4053	95.7896	27.5174
salt pepper				-	-	-	-
ricotta cheese	1 1/2	1/2		647.28	11.3088	41.8872	48.2856
egg	3			214.5	1.08	18.84	14.265
lasagna	1	lb	cooked	435.4492	65.3174	32.2051	10.4326
spinach	2	packages	chopped thawed squeezed frozen	-	-	-	-
mozzarella cheese	3	cups	shredded	-	-	-	-
parmesan cheese	1/4	cup	grated	74.0	8.0	8.0	1.0
extra virgin olive oil	1/2	cup		-	-	-	-
onion	1		chopped	28.0	6.537999999999999	0.77	0.07
garlic	2	cloves	chopped	8.94	1.9836	0.3816	0.03
celery	1	stalk	chopped	10.24	1.9008	0.4416	0.1088
carrot	1		chopped	52.48	12.2624	1.1904	0.3072
sea salt				-	-	-	-
black pepper			ground	-	-	-	-
tomato	2	cans	crushed	124.1379	27.5262	6.4768	1.0795
bay leaf	2			-	-	-	-
butter	4	tablespoons	unsalted	427.5	19.6425	13.3575	36.0

- Means that suitable USDA nutrition profile could not be mapped for this ingredient-unit combination.