This dish boasts all the flavours of this heartwarming meal —homemade tomato sauce, melty cheese and succulent ground beef — in a fraction of the time. While there’s no shame in simply breaking up plain old lasagna noodles for this recipe, I opted for prettily-shaped fiorelli pasta, which has lovely petal-like edges that not only reminded me of lasagne noodles, but expertly capture the sauce.
The best part of this dish is that you can stretch your leftovers to make a killer soup. A spoonful of ricotta on top is an unexpected topping that mimics the richness of your typical baked variety and the beefy tomato broth helps satisfy your inner cold-weather soup addict.
Courtesy of Bonnie Mo.
ingredients
Sauce
Lasagne
Soup
directions
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sweat onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add canned tomatoes and gently stir, being careful not to break the tomatoes (it can make them bitter). Stir occasionally. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add basil and purée with immersion blender. Set aside.
In a large skillet, add olive oil, onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, letting the oil get infused with the flavours. Add ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until there is no more red in the ground beef, about 12 minutes. Drain fat from beef.
Ladle prepared tomato sauce into skillet with the beef and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add cooked noodles directly to skillet and stir to combine. Stir in tomatoes, spinach and gently stir.
Serve in individual bowls and garnish with a spoonful of ricotta, grated mozzarella and basil.
Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large saucepan, bring broth and tomato-ground beef sauce to a boil.
Add cooked noodles and stir. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a spoonful of ricotta, grated mozzarella and basil.