Golden Gate Lasagna

After several years away, I’m back to dust off another favorite Stein recipe.

The Stein boys all loved their Mom’s cooking, but this is the recipe that has always been guaranteed to make my husband’s eyes light up. I surprised him with a pan of Mom’s lasagna for the first time in a long time recently. It was just as delicious as remembered. 

This recipe comes from  LaVerne’s well-loved copy of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. 

The publishing info page is gone from our copy because it’s falling apart – but you could do an image match if you want to find it, because it’s a good one.

Of course, her written recipe is just as well loved. 

Golden Gate Lasagna  

2 T salad oil 

½ c. minced onions

1 lb. chuck, ground (use any protein here – I used 97% lean ground beef)

2 cloves garlic

1-½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper (use more)

¼ tsp. oregano (I cooked extra of this sauce and used a generous tablespoon of oregano)

3 T snipped parsley (I didn’t have enough fresh so used a T or so of dried)

1 No. 2 can tomatoes (2-½ cups) 

1 8 oz can tomatoes sauce

(I usually don’t have tomato sauce – but if you do, dandy. I usually use 2 No 2, or 14-½ oz., cans of ready-cut tomatoes, draining one of them or simmering part of the time uncovered to cook off extra liquid).

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ lb. lasagna (I found no-boil lasagna noodles, which I had never seen. They work well in this recipe).

¾ lb. mozzarella cheese, grated

1 lb. ricotta or cottage cheese (we prefer cottage cheese – use your favorite!)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Saute onions, add beef, cook until red color disappears. Mash garlic with salt (or mash/mince and combine), add to meat, with pepper, oregano, parsley, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 2T parmesan. Simmer covered, 30 minutes (If you use ready-cut tomatoes, see tips above. Do check the sauce and stir often to prevent burning/sticking)

Cook lasagna, drain, cover with cold water (or use no-boil). 

Arrange in a large baking dish (9×13” – we use a Pyrex dish) ⅓ of meat sauce, single layer of lasagna, layer of mozzarella, layer of ricotta, 2 T parmesan. Repeat, ending with meat sauce and parmesan. We got 3 layers from this sauce.

Bake 30 minutes until hot and bubbly (We like the cheese to brown on the top, so consider that. If you aren’t sure it’s hot through, use a thermometer to check internal temp. It should be at least 165F). 

Let cool 15 minutes before serving with a big green salad.

There are all kinds of resources about preparing ahead to cook later , including on the pasta box. Check those out. Enjoy! We certainly did.