Meatball Lasagna

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 2 cups shredded fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons italian herb seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 2 (19 ounce) cans tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Recipe

• 1 meatballs:: in a bowl, whisk together egg, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup water, oregano, salt and pepper; mix in beef.
• 2 shape by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. bake on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet in a 400°f (200°c) oven until no longer pink inside, about 12 minutes.
• 3 tomato sauce: meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry onions, garlic, carrot, celery, herb seasoning, and salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• 4 add the tomato paste and tomatoes (presumably with the juice), breaking up with potato masher or some such thing, bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• 5 add the meatballs; simmer until a spoon scraped across bottom of pan leaves a gap that fills in slowly, about 10 minutes.
• 6 bechamel sauce: meanwhile, in separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat; whisk in flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute.
• 7 add the milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly. keep whisking and cooking until bubbly and thickened, about 5 minutes. whisk in ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• 8 in large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles until almost tender, 6 to 8 minutes. drain and chill in cold water; arrange in single layer on a damp tea towel.
• 9 without picking up any meatballs, spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce into a 13- x 9-inch (3 l) glass baking dish. top with one-third of the noodles; spread with one-third of the remaining sauce and meatballs, then half of the bechamel sauce. starting with the noodles, repeat the layers once.
• 10 top with remaining noodles; spread with the remaining meatball sauce. sprinkle with fontina and parmesan cheeses.
• 11 cover with foil; bake in 375°f (190°c) oven for 20 minutes. uncover and bake until bubbly and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. let stand for 10 minutes.