Perfectly sized lasagne for a romantic meal.

I love lasagne. But since I am an empty nester now, finding times I can bake that and use it effectively has become more difficult. But I remain undeterred, and have scaled the recipe back for enough to feed about 2-3 people, or four with a smaller portion. And that is easy enough to handle, I think! It also makes it perfect for a romantic meal, paired with a nice dry red wine. I prefer a Cab with this but I am biased about that.

There may be a little leftover, but that is easily rewarmed for a lunch the next day. I don’t really like to freeze large quantities of lasagne because it just seems to dry and lose quality.

This recipe I had posted in a couple of other places before I had the blog busy. I know someone said they must have small loaf pans because they needed two. Every time I make this it is just right for my pan, but if you have extra, you can just bake it in an extra pan, or perhaps some ramekins for little mini-lasagne (kids might enjoy that!)

I do hope you enjoy- I have linked my marinara sauce recipe to the ingredients list but you can feel free to use whatever recipe for that you like, or even jarred spaghetti sauce for convenience.

~Sue

Smaller Lasagne for Two

Ingredients

• 6  lasagna noodles, cooked according to your package directions
• 8 ounces lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup freshly minced onion
•   2 -4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15 ounces marinara sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cook noodles and drain.
3. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet for a few minutes then add ground beef, oregano, basil salt and pepper and cook until beef is browned, breaking up any clumped meat. Stir in marinara sauce and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, making sure sauce doesn’t get too thick.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together a lightly beaten egg with ricotta and Parmesan.
5. In the bottom of a loaf pan, place about 1 cup meat sauce across the bottom. Top with two noodles, then top with half of the remaining meat sauce mixture. Top with another two noodles and the ricotta mixture. Top with the last two noodles and the remaining sauce. Layer mozzarella slices across the top.
6. Loosely tent pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake another ten minutes, allowing cheese to brown.
7. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes before you cut into it.

Yield: 2-3 Servings
Time: 75-90 minutes

You might also like:

Chicken and Penne with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

Spaghetti Squash Tetrazzini

Marinara Sauce

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