Lasagna Casserole

Lasagna Casserole

1 pound campagnelle
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef, pork, and veal mix
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 (28-oz) can Italian plum tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded or torn
A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. When it boils, salt the water liberally, add the pasta, and cook just shy of al dente, 6 to 7 minutes; there should still be a good bite left to it.

While the pasta water comes to a boil, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and break it up into small bits; brown it lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic; season with salt and pepper; and cook for 5 to 6 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes to the pan and use a wooden spoon to crush them up. Add the stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, then fold in the basil and parsley.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the sauce and ricotta cheese and mix well, then transfer to a casserole dish and top with Parmigiano cheese. Bake for 15 minutes to get the top a bit crusty.

I was excited about this recipe. It's from Rachel Ray's Just In Time cookbook. I got this cookbook a couple of Christmases ago and nearly every recipe we tried out of it has been really good. I had to do quite a bit of tweaking though simply because of availability of ingredients so I can only say that this meal is loosely based on her recipe.

The ingredients:


I didn't find the ground beef, pork, and veal mix at the grocery store so I just used regular ground beef.

While I had the grater out to grate the carrots, I decided it would be easier to grate the onion as well. I only had half an onion so that's all I used.

We couldn't find the Italian plum tomatoes at the store either so I used Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes instead. It says to crush the tomatoes which was pretty difficult.

I intended to use fresh basil for this but the basil I had in my refrigerator went bad. I used dried instead which will result in a less fresh flavor but I didn't have much of an option. I am pretty bad about things like this. I am getting better, but I often will forget to use something, or will put off a meal until one or more of the ingredients goes bad.

Here the sauce is simmering. The smell was very familiar to both Tyler and me but neither of us could put our finger on what exactly it smelled like. Whatever it was, it smelled good.

The pasta was done at least 5 minutes before the sauce so I decided to mix it with the cheese beforehand to prevent it from sticking to itself. The recipe calls for 2 cups but we could only find 1 3/4 cup containers at the store so that's what we used.

Here is the casserole all mixed up and ready to go into the oven. It was almost too much for my casserole dish but luckily just fit. I don't have anything bigger so I was relieved.

The final product: the casserole reminded me a lot of goulash. It was good but I was honestly expecting something a little more exotic from Rachel Ray. The issue may not have been with her recipe, though, and probably had more to do with all of my alterations. I will probably make this again but will definitely try to use fresh basil; I think that would increase the fresh factor.