Hell in a Hand Basket Lasagna with Sourdough herb garlic bread..Meat lasagna with spinach, layered in a pink bechamel sauce.

Sometimes life calls for a recipe that is so bad its good.  I'm not counting anything in this recipe besides how many different cheeses I'm using.  So if your sad, its a rainy day, PMS, you just love pasta or your having surgery and wont be able to eat for 2 weeks, this is a lasagna that will make you curl in a ball and you may even purr....actually I oinked after but whatever...

Hell in a Hand Basket Lasagna with Sourdough herb garlic bread

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Grease with olive oil a 11 x 17 baking pan

1 Loaf nice sourdough bread

1 Box lasagna noodles  (12 noodles of your rolling your own but that's another recipe)

8 oz Ricotta cheese

16 oz Mozzarella Cheese

8 oz Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup  Fresh Basil leaves , 1/4 cup chiffonade, the rest for garnish on plates.

1 egg

1 T dried red pepper flakes

2 T garlic powder

1 Onion

4 cloves garlic

1 lb ground beef

4 tomatoes

salt

pepper

1/2 cup flour

1 cup cream

1 cup milk

2 T tomato paste

1/2 stick butter

1 t freshly grated nutmeg

1 bag of baby spinach

Noodles:

Boil a huge pot of salted water and boil noddles for only about 8 minutes, they need to be AL Dente. 

 

Ricotta Filling:

In a medium bowl mix the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the chiffonade basil, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Meat Filling:

First saute the chopped onion and  2  cloves of the chopped  garlic.  Add the ground beef and chopped tomatoes.   Mix all together on med-high for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic powder, red pepper flake, salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Pink Bechamel Sauce:

Melt the half of stick of butter, and add the flour to make a roux.  Cook the roux for about 7 minutes, so its light brown in the golden roux stage.  Whisk in the cream and the milk until smooth.  This will thicken up quickly.  Add the tomato paste and a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Whisk again and season with grated nutmeg,  salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside on low.

Build the lasagna:

Lay down a layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan.  Spoon an equal amount of meat on the noodles, then layer some mozzarella on the top, then a layer of spinach, spread a layer of the ricotta mixture, then pour half the sauce over all of that.  Repeat with another layer of noodles, meat, cheese, spinach, ricotta mixture and sauce.  Top with a layer of noodles, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan on top of that.  Bake uncovered for an hour.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

 Herb Garlic Bread:

 

While the lasagna is sitting, split the bread in half and put a compound butter mixture of basil, the last clove of  chopped garlic and some Parmesan, salt and pepper in it.  Wrap in foil and throw in the oven for the 10 minutes.

Slice, break bread and enjoy with a nice red wine.  Oink!