Yummy Lasagna

For Pasta

1. Take a deep pot.
2. Pour 5 to 6 glasses of water into the pot.
3. Add salt and olive oil into the pot.
4. Bring the water to boil.
5. Add lasagna sheets into the boiling water.
6. Let the lasagna sheets boil until they are only half tender.
7. Drain the hot water and run the lasagna through cold water.
8. Set these aside until they are needed for assembling.

For Sauce

1. Take a non-stick frying pan.
2. Heat up olive oil into the pan.
3. Add chopped onion, chopped garlic, ground beef, salt and freshly ground black pepper into the pan.
4. Stir fry these ingredients for at least 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
5. Now add crushed tomatoes and tomato puree into the pan.
6. Mix these well and let the sauce simmer for at least 10 minutes on low heat. If the beef used is not pre-cooked, let the sauce cook for at least 20 minutes. Check the tenderness of the beef before continuing.
7. Once, it has blended and thickened considerably, add freshly chopped parsley leaves into the pan.
8. Mix these into the sauce as well.
9. Let the sauce cook for another minute then take it off the heat.

For Assembling

1. Take a large baking dish.
2. Lay down a layer of the sauce into the dish.
3. Add a layer of the boiled pasta on top of the sauce.
4. Add a thin layer of cream cheese on top of the pasta.
5. Repeat the layers until the dish is full to the top.
6. Lay out a final layer of sauce and cream cheese on the very top.
7. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over that.
8. Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes in the oven at 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Garnish it with basil leaves and serve hot!

Trivia

• The month of July is actually considered as the lasagna awareness month.
• Lasagna was the reason behind a diplomatic dispute between England and Italy.

The original recipe for lasagna did not include any tomatoes which have now become a key ingredient of this flavorful dish!