Lasagna with Meatballs and Four Cheeses
On any given day – if you happened to look into our freezer – chances are you'd find several home-cooked foods and ingredients that we always keep on hand. Among them, you'd find some of our Italian Tomato Sauce, and our Italian-Style Meatballs. Keeping a select stash of premade foods and ingredients on hand is a great way to get dinner on the table quickly and easily when time is tight and schedules are hectic. Wouldn't it be great to know that you can cook up a tray of this delicious Meatball Lasagna anytime you'd like? Like any lasagna recipe, there is some prep time involved in assembling all of the layers – tomato sauce, lasagna noodles, a ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses – but having prepared sauce and cooked meatballs on hand helps the preparations go more quickly. Then, you can go about your business while this fantastic Meatball Lasagna bubbles away in the oven until it’s ready to serve.
3 cups Italian Tomato Sauce
18 Italian Meatballs, each sliced into 5 or 6 slices
1 lb lasagna noodles (18 pieces)
1 (16 oz) container whole milk ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
1 whole egg
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly grated
few grinds fresh nutmeg
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
10 slices deli provolone cheese
Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).
Heat sauce and simmer until assembly. Heat meatballs and slice then keep warm until assembly.
In a very large wide pot, heat water and once boiling, salt the water then add one lasagna strip at a time so that they don't stick. Cook for one minute short of what it says on the box. My box said to cook for eight minutes and I cooked for seven.
Have a strainer standing by and gently lift each piece out with tongs and into the strainer, being careful not to break any. Rinse with cold running water and lay out on a sheet tray with the pieces not touching. I layered with plastic wrap until I was ready to use them.
In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg and ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).
To assemble, in a 9x13" or larger casserole dish place one cup of sauce on the bottom.
Lay four lasagna noodles the long way, overlapping each.
Lay half of the sliced meatballs across the noodles, overlapping if needed to fit. Cover with ½ cup of sauce.
Lay five slices of provolone over the meatballs, cutting one piece in half to fit.
Top with another layer of noodles, then cover with all of the ricotta mixture.
Place another layer of noodles over the ricotta and top with the remaining meatballs and another ½ cup of sauce.
Place the remaining provolone over the meatballs and top with a final layer of noodles.
Cover the top with one cup of sauce then sprinkle the remaining shredded mozzarella over the top.
Cover with parchment and foil and bake for 45 minutes. (You may need a sheet of foil on the rack below to catch drips.)
Uncover and bake for five more minutes. If desired, place under broiler for a few minutes to brown.
Let sit ten minutes then cut 4x3 (thirds across the short edge of the pan and quarters across the long edge) to yield 12 portions. Serve with additional sauce, if desired.
Makes 12 servings.
Cook's Notes:
Some newer casserole dishes are slightly larger in dimension than the standard 9x13". It is OK if your dish is slightly larger, just make sure it is not smaller.