Grandma's Lasagna

I know it's been a while, but I hope you'll forgive me after you try my grandma's lasagna recipe!  I LOOOOVE the creamy cheese sauce on top, I think that's why this is my favourite recipe.










 Meat Sauce

1 large onion, chopped

1 large (2 small) clove garlic minced

pinch of basil

pinch of oregano

1/4 cup olive oil or salad oil

2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes (28 oz can)

1 can tomato paste ( 5 1/2 oz)

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Cheese Sauce

1 small onion chopped very fine

1/2 cup butter or margarine

6 tbsp flour

4 cups hot milk

1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

pinch salt

4 egg yolks

Step 1...Meat Sauce

Sauté onion, garlic, basil and oregano in the oil until the onion is transparent.  Next, stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1/2 cup water and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the beef, breaking it up with a blending fork and then stir in the bay leaves.  Cover and let cook over low heat for 1 hour.  I use a giant, heavy pot for this (le cruset works best).

I would recommend making this the night before and storing it in the fridge for two reasons.  First, the flavours can blend together nicely.  Second, the fat will solidify on the top and you can scoop it out with a spoon and toss it.  And don't forget to remove the bay leaves!

 Step 2...Cheese Sauce

Sauté the onion in butter for a couple of minutes.  Next, slowly add the  flour and stir to cook away all starchy taste.  

Next, add the hot milk, cheese, and salt and stir with a wire whisk over low heat. When the  sauce thickens, stir a little into egg yolks to prevent the eggs from scrambling and then pour it all back into hot sauce.  Set aside.  

 Step 3...Assembly

I use noodles that are oven ready. First, arrange a layer of noodles on the bottom of a shallow pan long enough for noodles. Add enough meat sauce to cover noodles and then repeat the layers until there is no meat sauce left (usually two layers, but it depends on the size of your pan). Include a layer of ricotta or cottage cheese on top of one meat layer.  End with a layer of noodles and cover them with the cheese sauce.
Cover the pan with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  You know the lasagna is cooked when you can easily insert a knife through the layers.  Next, broil on high for a few minutes to brown the sauce.  Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I tried to take a shot of the layers, but there was so much cheese sauce!