Ricotta Lasagne

Instructions

Remove the casings from the sausage and break the meat into small bits. Cook it with the ground beef, onion and garlic in a 5-quart (4.7 L) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until the meat is browned.

Stir in the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the salt, the basil, fennel, pepper and half of the parsley. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water, mashing the tomatoes a little as they go in.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours, stirring from time to time. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 275 °F (135 °C).

Cook the lasagna pasta, then drain it. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta with the egg, the remaining ½ tablespoon of salt and the rest of the parsley.

Build the lasagna in a 13×9×2-inch (33×23×5.1-cm) roasting pan. Start with about 1½ cups (375 g) of sauce, then a layer of slightly overlapping pasta, half the ricotta mixture and a third of the mozzarella.

Add another 1½ cups (375 g) of sauce and sprinkle Parmesan over it, leaving some sauce uncovered. Repeat with pasta, the remaining ricotta, another third of the mozzarella, the remaining sauce and more Parmesan, then top with the last of the mozzarella.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 minutes more, until bubbly and lightly browned, then let it cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting.