If you turn the page over, you’ll notice that there’s a tri-campus piece exploring the three U of T campuses in this week’s issue.
With that intercampus spirit in mind, Sharine Taylor, arts and life editor of UTSC’s publication The Underground, has volunteered a recipe for this week’s Blackboard Special.
For Taylor, the only thing that could potentially take precedence over Beyoncé’s entire discography is her homemade lasagna.
“In the food world, lasagna is really the all-around dish,” says Taylor. “It has ingredients from all four food groups—you can put an entire neighbourhood of cheese in at [once]. It’s super delicious and functions as a great lunch or dinner.”
While I’m not a fan of the heavy cheesy layers found in lasagna, I certainly can’t argue with lasagna’s versatility. Several different meats, vegetables, cheeses, and sauces can be used in each layer. With inventions such as lasagna rolls and lasagna cupcakes, it’s clear that the possibilities are endless.
“My mother has mastered making and remixing various cuisines from all over the world, but her lasagna recipe, which I’ve now adapted and put my spin on, [will] definitely have everyone at your next gathering drunk in l(lasagna)ove,” adds Taylor.
Lasagna
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
- ½ green pepper
- ½ red pepper
- 2 whole mushrooms
- ½ onion
- 1 pack of ground beef
- Pasta sauce (Taylor prefers Classico’s Vodka sauce)
- Ricotta cheese
- Pesto sauce (Taylor prefers Classico’s Pesto Di Genova basil sauce)
- Lasagna pasta (uncooked)
- Seasoning (garlic, all-purpose, black pepper, Italian seasoning)
- 1 egg
- ½ a brick of cheese, grated and covered (Taylor prefers Black Diamond’s marble cheese)
METHOD
- Julienne the onions, mushrooms, and green and red pepper.
- Season and cover the ground beef.
- Heat a medium non-stick pan with a teaspoon of vegetable oil on medium heat.
- Once heated, sauté the julienned vegetables until they’re caramelized.
- Keep the pan on medium heat and place the seasoned ground beef inside, breaking it down with a spatula.
- After approximately five minutes of cooking, add the entire pasta sauce bottle. Turn the heat down and let it simmer while stirring the beef often.
- While the beef cooks, boil the lasagna pasta to the consistency of your liking.
- While both the ground beef and pasta are on the stove, empty out ¾ of the ricotta cheese into a mixing bowl with the egg. Add about ¾ of the grated cheese to the mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Once the pasta is ready, grease a baking tray.
- Let the beef cook for 20 minutes minimum. At this point, both the pasta and beef should be ready. Remove both from the heat.
- Place the first layer of pasta and the first layer of the ricotta, egg, and grated cheese mix into a dish.
- Place another layer of pasta and a layer of the ground beef and pasta sauce mix. Alternate until you are at the top of the dish.
- Regardless of whether the final layer is the ricotta mixture or the ground beef mixture, top it with one more layer of pasta.
- Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on the final layer of pasta.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and place it in the middle of the oven rack. Make sure the foil isn’t touching the cheese.
- After 15 minutes, or when top layer of cheese is golden brown, remove the lasagna from the oven.
- Let it cool for 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
