St. Lawrence Lasagna

History

One of the most famous martyrs in history, St. Lawrence has been honored by the Church since at least the fourth century. Due to his popularity and significance within the Christian calendar, his day has been long celebrated in a variety of ways. Although these traditions vary around the world, there is one thing that they tend to have in common: they all revolve around the instrument of St. Lawrence’s martyrdom, namely the gridiron on which he was roasted.

In some countries nothing hot is served on St. Lawrence’s Day because of his death over the hot flames. Instead, cold soups and salads are served (apropos for early August!). Yet in other places, the norm is to serve twice-cooked or barbecued dishes, recalling St. Lawrence’s triumph over the flames and his insistence that he be “turned over” until he was cooked through.

Twice-Cooked Lasagna

One of the classic twice-cooked recipes for St. Lawrence’s Day is the ever-popular lasagna, hence the recipe that we share with you today. Whether you choose to celebrate St. Lawrence by making this dish or by serving cold foods, we hope that you will join the Christians throughout the centuries who have found inspiration in St. Lawrence’s remarkable witness to our Lord!

St. Lawrence Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground Italian sausage

34 oz. jar of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

15 ounces ricotta cheese

9 ounces lasagna noodles

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

1. Start by cooking the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water. When the noodles are slightly al dente, strain them and set aside.
2. In a large pan cook the ground beef and Italian sausage.
3. When the meat is browned, add the jar of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to the pan.
4. Cook for 15 minutes.
5. Set the meat sauce aside to cool.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the grated Parmesan and ricotta cheese.
7. Now to assemble the lasagna: pour 1/2 cup of sauce into the bottom of a large 9×13 pan.
8. Top the sauce with enough lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of the dish.
9. Layer the noodles with more meat sauce, ricotta cheese mixture, and then lasagna noodles. Repeat these layers until your ingredients are gone, ending with a layer of meat sauce on top.
10. Cover top of lasagna with mozzarella cheese.
11. Bake at 375 covered for 45 minutes.
12. Uncover and bake the lasagna for another 10 minutes.
13. Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving!