Lasagna

Do you have a favourite lasagna recipe?  Seriously, I think I make it differently every time.  I have a super streamlined version that is just a meat layer and a ricotta layer.  Then there are variations that include:

Veggies: marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, spinach, zucchini, pumpkin, mushrooms, peas (yeah, really), dried chillies
Cheese: mozzarella, Parmesan, goat cheese, cottage cheese
Meats:  chicken breast, ground beef
Sauces:  rose, marinara, puttanesca, bechamel, Alfredo

My favourite experiment was pumpkin with caramelized onions, bechamel sauce and mozzarella.  Mmmm.  It was awesome.

This version was fairly tame.

 I started by sauteeing onion, red pepper and marinated artichoke hearts.  Then I added the ground beef.  This is my little trick for draining the fat.  I line a bowl with paper towels, dump in the beef, then more paper towels on top.  I find this easier than trying to hold the heavy frypan over the sink to drain the fat.  I used to lose as much beef as I kept in the pan that way.

I used a rose sauce which was just a canned pasta sauce with cream in it.  I just eyeball it until I like the colour.  You could add cheese to this as well and it would be great.

Under this sauce is a layer of ricotta (with a beaten egg) that I forgot to photograph.  You'll have to dig out your imagination hats.

Our neighbour brought over a big bag of fresh-picked green beans for us.  Mmmm,....they were the perfect accompaniment.