Judge Patricia DiMango's Lasagna

For the gravy, place a high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add all of the ground meat and cook until brown, about 10 minutes, breaking it up with the back of a spoon as it cooks. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook a few more minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato purée, basil leaves, sugar to taste and the butter. Bring up to a bubble and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once you have the gravy cooking, prepare the lasagna noodles: Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add some salt and the lasagna noodles, and cook according to package directions, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Drain and run under cold water until completely cool. Reserve noodles.

While the lasagna noodles are cooking, prepare the ricotta filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, beaten egg, chopped parsley and some salt and pepper. Reserve.
 
Preheat oven to 350°F.

To assemble the lasagna, place about a half-inch layer of gravy on the bottom of a 9x13” baking dish. Top with a layer of the cooked noodles, slightly overlapping them, and top that with a layer of the ricotta mixture, spreading it out to cover the noodles completely. Sprinkle with 1/4 of each cheese and repeat 3 more times. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven and cook for 1 1/4 hours.

Remove foil and continue to cook for another 15-30 minutes, or until bubbly and brown on top.